The subsistence practices of Holocene communities living in the Nile Valley of Central Sudan are comparatively little known. Recent excavations at Khor Shambat, Sudan, have yielded well-defined Mesolithic and Neolithic stratigraphy. Here, for the first time, archaeozoological, palaeobotanical, phytolith and dental calculus studies are combined with lipid residue analysis of around 100 pottery fragments and comparative analysis of faunal remains and organic residues. This holistic approach provides valuable information on changes in adaptation strategies, from Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to Neolithic herders exploiting domesticates. A unique picture is revealed of the natural environment and human subsistence, demonstrating the potential wider value of combining multiple methods.

Online dietary assessment tools can reduce administrative costs and facilitate repeated dietary assessment during follow-up in large-scale prospective studies. We developed an online 24-h recall (myfood24) with automated estimation of associated nutrient intake, and assessed validity against reference recovery, predictive and concentration biomarkers. Validity of the online tool was then compared with that of traditional interviewer-administered multiple-pass 24-h recalls and presented as the expected attenuation of any diet-disease associations estimated with the tool.

Metabolically stable adults were recruited and completed the new online dietary recall, a traditional interviewer-based multiple-pass recall and provided samples of blood and urine for a range of reference biomarkers. Longer-term dietary intake was estimated from up to three recalls taken two weeks apart. Estimated intakes of protein, total sugars, potassium and sodium were compared with urinary biomarker concentrations. Estimated energy intake was compared with energy expenditure measured by three-plane accelerometry and open-circuit indirect calorimetry. Validity against these biomarkers was also compared to that estimated for traditional interviewer-administered multiple-pass 24-hour recalls.

At least one biomarker sample was received from each of 212 participants. Compared to reference biomarkers, both the online 24-hour recall and interviewer-based recall led to attenuation of diet-disease associations. The online tool resulted in attenuation factors of around 0.2–0.3 which could have important effects on estimated risks. For example, if the true relative risk of a diet-disease association was 2.0, an attenuation factor of 0.3 would reduce the relative risk to 1.23. Ranking using intakes against repeated biomarkers as an estimate of truth, resulted in higher attenuation factors of approximately 0.3–0.4, with a smaller impact on risk estimates. Attenuation improved substantially on repeated application of the tool. Validity of the interviewer-based recall found similar attenuation factors, but it was more administratively burdensome and expensive to implement. The online tool typically provided 10–20% lower nutrient estimates compared to the interviewer-administered tool.

Our findings show that, whilst results from both automated online and traditional interviewer-based dietary recalls are attenuated compared to objective biomarker measures, the myfood24 online 24-hour recall is comparable to the more time-consuming and costly traditional interviewer-based 24-hour recall across a wide range of measures. The less burdensome implementation of the online tool, with automated nutrient coding and easy replication over a longer time period with associated gains in precision, makes it well-placed for repeated use in large-scale prospective studies.

Background: There are national policy drivers for mental health services to demonstrate that they are effectively meeting the psychological needs of people with long-term health conditions/medically unexplained symptoms (LTC/MUS). Aims: To evaluate the implementation of a stepped-care service delivery model within an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service for patients with depression or anxiety in the context of their LTC/MUS. Method: A stepped-care model was designed and implemented. Clinical and organizational impacts were evaluated via analyses of LTC/MUS patient profiles, throughputs and outcomes. Results: The IAPT service treated N = 844 LTC and N = 172 MUS patients, with the majority (81.81%) receiving a low intensity intervention. Dropout across the service steps was low. There were few differences between LTC and MUS outcome rates regardless of step of service, but outcomes were suppressed when compared to generic IAPT patients. Conclusions: The potential contribution of IAPT stepped-care service delivery models in meeting the psychological needs of LTC/MUS patients is debated.

Non-invasive survey in the Stonehenge ‘Triangle’, Amesbury, Wiltshire, has highlighted a number of features that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the site. Geophysical anomalies may signal the position of buried stones adding to the possibility of former stone arrangements, while laser scanning has provided detail on the manner in which the stones have been dressed; some subsequently carved with axe and dagger symbols. The probability that a lintelled bluestone trilithon formed an entrance in the north-east is signposted. This work has added detail that allows discussion on the question of whether the sarsen circle was a completed structure, although it is by no means conclusive in this respect. Instead, it is suggested that it was built as a façade, with other parts of the circuit added and with an entrance in the south.

Integrated non-invasive survey in the Stonehenge ‘triangle’, Amesbury, Wiltshire, has highlighted a number of features that have a significant bearing on the interpretation of the site. Among them are periglacial and natural topographical structures, including a chalk mound that may have influenced site development. Some geophysical anomalies are similar to the post-holes in the car park of known Mesolithic date, while others beneath the barrows to the west may point to activity contemporary with Stonehenge itself. Evidence that the ‘North Barrow’ may be earlier in the accepted sequence is presented and the difference between the eastern and western parts of the enclosure ditch highlighted, while new data relating to the Y and Z Holes and to the presence of internal banks that mirror their respective circuits is also outlined.

The Business Meeting of Commission 10 was held as part of the Business Meeting of Division II (Sun and Heliosphere), chaired by Valentin Martínez-Pillet, the President of the Division. The President of Commission 10 (C10; Solar activity), Lidia van Driel-Gesztelyi, took the chair for the business meeting of C10. She summarised the activities of C10 over the triennium and the election of the incoming OC.

Commission 10 of the International Astronomical Union has more than 650 members who study a wide range of activity phenomena produced by our nearest star, the Sun. Solar activity is intrinsically related to solar magnetic fields and encompasses events from the smallest energy releases (nano- or even picoflares) to the largest eruptions in the Solar System, coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which propagate into the Heliosphere reaching the Earth and beyond. Solar activity is manifested in the appearance of sunspot groups or active regions, which are the principal sources of activity phenomena from the emergence of their magnetic flux through their dispersion and decay. The period 2008–2009 saw an unanticipated extended solar cycle minimum and unprecedentedly weak polar-cap and heliospheric field. Associated with that was the 2009 historical maximum in galactic cosmic rays flux since measurements begun in the middle of the 20th Century. Since then Cycle 24 has re-started solar activity producing some spectacular eruptions observed with a fleet of spacecraft and ground-based facilities. In the last triennium major advances in our knowledge and understanding of solar activity were due to continuing success of space missions as SOHO, Hinode, RHESSI and the twin STEREO spacecraft, further enriched by the breathtaking images of the solar atmosphere produced by the Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) launched on 11 February 2010 in the framework of NASA's Living with a Star program. In August 2012, at the time of the IAU General Assembly in Beijing when the mandate of this Commission ends, we will be in the unique position to have for the first time a full 3-D view of the Sun and solar activity phenomena provided by the twin STEREO missions about 120 degrees behind and ahead of Earth and other spacecraft around the Earth and ground-based observatories. These new observational insights are continuously posing new questions, inspiring and advancing theoretical analysis and modelling, improving our understanding of the physics underlying magnetic activity phenomena. Commission 10 reports on a vigorously evolving field of research produced by a large community. The number of refereed publications containing ‘Sun’, ‘heliosphere’, or a synonym in their abstracts continued the steady growth seen over the preceding decades, reaching about 2000 in the years 2008–2010, with a total of close to 4000 unique authors. This report, however, has its limitations and it is inherently incomplete, as it was prepared jointly by the members of the Organising Committee of Commission 10 (see the names of the primary contributors to the sections indicated in parentheses) reflecting their fields of expertise and interest. Nevertheless, we believe that it is a representative sample of significant new results obtained during the last triennium in the field of solar activity.

Background: This study investigated sudden reversals during cognitive therapy (CT), through the comparison of “in-session” activity and “out-of-session” life events. Method: The sample comprised 20 clients who experienced sudden gains during CT for depression: 10 who subsequently suffered a reversal of this gain and 10 matched clients who maintained progress. Measures of client resistance and therapist responses were scored by judges from session transcripts and clients completed measures of life events and depression at each session. This enabled the Reversal and Non-Reversal groups to be compared during pre-sudden gain, pre-reversal or matched sessions. Results: No differences were apparent between the Reversal and Non-reversal groups or between the pre-gain and pre-reversal sessions in terms of client or therapist “in-session” activities. In the Reversals group, 6 out of 10 clients recovered their level of symptom improvement, following the reversal. Therapists showed higher levels of reflection and self-disclosure with clients who did not recover their symptom gain following the Reversal than with clients who did recover their symptom gain following the Reversal. Conclusions: The study is discussed in terms of the manner by which reversals can be more effectively measured and researched.

Each year a large number of children and adolescents develop significant posttraumatic symptoms after being involved in road traffic accidents (RTA). Consequently there is a need to develop effective interventions to prevent or minimize such reactions. The use of symptom monitoring with adults has found promising results. This pilot study explores the use of symptom monitoring with children and young people involved in RTAs. Twelve young people who met criteria on screening questionnaires for significant posttraumatic symptoms completed symptom monitoring diaries. Following completion of a diary once a day for 3 weeks, 3/12 children (25%) fell below criteria, suggesting significant posttraumatic symptoms. Feedback about self-monitoring was generally positive and suggests that symptom monitoring may be a helpful yet simple intervention for use with child trauma victims.

Species within the genus Botryosphaeria include some of the most widespread and important pathogens of woody plants, and have been the focus of numerous taxonomic studies in recent years. It is currently accepted that anamorphs of Botryosphaeria belong to two distinct genera, Fusicoccum and Diplodia. Species within the genus Fusicoccum commonly produce aseptate, hyaline conidia. In the present study, fungi were isolated from foliage and wood of Eucalyptus in native forests and plantations in Australia. Although these fungi produced Dichomera anamorphs in culture, they clustered within the Fusicoccum clade of Botryosphaeria based on their ITS sequence data. Four species, Botryosphaeria dothidea, B. parva, B. ribis and B. australis produced Dichomera conidia in culture. The Dichomera synanamorphs are described for these four species of Botryosphaeria. In addition, falling within the Fusicoccum clade of Botryosphaeria, two species were found to be distinct from previously described Botryosphaeria spp. based on their ITS sequences, but synonymous with D. versiformis and D. eucalypti. These observations are currently unique to isolates from host trees within the genus Eucalyptus in Australia, and the pleoanamorphic nature of these species is discussed.

This paper is a preliminary report on the Spring 2005 season of the excavations at Euesperides (Benghazi). Work continued in Areas P and Q, and on the processing of finds from the 2005 and previous seasons. In Area P a series of domestic deposits dated to the last quarter of the fourth or first quarter of the third century BC was excavated, including a hearth, a probable domestic altar and associated votive deposits, and a series of post-holes perhaps connected with furniture and a loom. Two small external yard areas seem to have been used for purple dye production. In Area Q late occupation to the west of the street is dated to the late fourth century BC; to the east of the street, the latest stratigraphy appears to have been truncated and the occupation levels so far excavated here date from 470 down to 300 BC.

Selected finewares from the excavations are presented, ranging in date from the sixth to the third centuries BC. Work on the coarse pottery and amphora assemblages has begun to distinguish products of different production centres within Cyrenaica. Besides demonstrating the quantities of imported coarsewares from Corinth, the Aegean and the Punic world, we can now recognise four classes of Cyrenaican amphorae, including exports present at Punic Sabratha. The study of the wall plaster, environmental remains and other finds are also briefly discussed.

Euesperides is a site both of archaeological importance and of considerable scientific interest for its rare wetland vegetation, but both of these aspects remain vulnerable to ongoing damage as a result of urban development, uncontrolled rubbish dumping and a lack of effective protection of the site.

This article reports on the sixth season of the ongoing project at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavation in Area P established the date of construction of the penultimate phase (and therefore of the plain pebble mosaic with inscription published last year) as 300-282 BC, following the abandonment and demolition of the antepenultimate phase beneath it. An area used for the preparation and cutting of the materials employed in the final-phase mosaics has been identified. In Area Q the dismantling of the street sequence was completed, and the W building fronting the street found to date from the fifth century BC. In Area R the crushed deposits of Murex shell were removed and working surfaces associated with purple dye production defined. Geological investigations to the west of the city revealed a possible location for the ancient harbour, and showed that the waterlogged deposits of the former sebkha are a good source for further palaeoenvironmental research.

Study of the finds also continued. Further work on reconstructing the design of the final phase mosaic in Area P suggests a central motif probably of two dolphins set within a wave-crest surround. The initial results of the analysis of the mosaic samples taken from the final-phase Building A are presented. The study of the wall plaster fragments was begun, enabling some preliminary observations on the decoration. New forms of local black glaze pots have been recovered this year along with fineware imports from Attica, Corinth, East Greece, south Italy and the Punic world throwing light on the interrelations between Euesperides and the Mediterranean world from the fifth to third centuries BC. Full quantification of the coarse pottery assemblages continued this season, doubling the dataset of fully recorded pottery, whilst detailed analysis of vessel forms and their variations identified production techniques and chronological developments of vessel shapes within the local and imported wares. The study of the amphorae identified more Punic amphorae and an unusual basket-handled amphora which may be of Cypriot origin. Initial assessments of environmental and faunal remains were conducted.

This paper represents the joint work of two very different specialists. The fieldwork was undertaken by Sillitoe as part of his ethnographic research in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the interpretative work was done by an archaeologist, Hardy. The work described here represents some of the last direct evidence from users of stone tools. It shows how procurement, manufacture, use, storage and the relative roles of men and women in the process was dependant on what other materials were available – material often sadly elusive in the archaeological record. Discard did not reflect use, but was often guided by the thoughtful wish to avoid cut feet.

This article reports on the fifth season of the ongoing project at Euesperides (Benghazi). Excavation in Area P'confirmed a date of 261-250 BC for the destruction of the penultimate phase and the construction of the final phase, with mosaics of mixed pebble and irregular tesserae. An inscription was discovered on the mosaic of the penultimate phase; and some rooms of the preceding phase were investigated. In Area Q the dismantling of the street sequence continued, together with the investigation of houses fronting the street, and the evidence for the lines of different phases of the city defences. Outside the line of the latest defences, excavation in an ancient quarry ditch revealed a refuse deposit rich in ceramics and organic materials. In Area R the rooms surrounding the courtyard were defined, and the latest phases of Murex purple dye production were investigated. At the request of the Municipality and the Department of Antiquities of Benghazi, evaluation trenches were cut to assess the impact of proposed developments on the archaeological remains south and east of the city.

Study of the finds also continued. Work began on reconstructing the design of the final phase mosaic in Area P, the central motif of which was probably a dolphin, within a wave-crest surround. Analysis of the coarsewares demonstrated that between 40-60% of third-century BC coarsewares at the site were imported, many from areas of the Punic world; this suggests active and regular trading networks. Study of the amphorae revealed that forms of Corinthian B amphorae were produced at Euesperides.