Clinical outcomes of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for treatment of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) vary widely and there is no mood rating scale that is standard for assessing rTMS outcome. It remains unclear whether TMS is as efficacious in older adults with late-life depression (LLD) compared to younger adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study examined the effect of age on outcomes of rTMS treatment of adults with TRD. Self-report and observer mood ratings were measured weekly in 687 subjects ages 16–100 years undergoing rTMS treatment using the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology 30-item Self-Report (IDS-SR), Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ), Profile of Mood States 30-item, and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 17-item (HDRS). All rating scales detected significant improvement with treatment; response and remission rates varied by scale but not by age (response/remission ≥ 60: 38%–57%/25%–33%; <60: 32%–49%/18%–25%). Proportional hazards models showed early improvement predicted later improvement across ages, though early improvements in PHQ and HDRS were more predictive of remission in those < 60 years (relative to those ≥ 60) and greater baseline IDS burden was more predictive of non-remission in those ≥ 60 years (relative to those < 60). These results indicate there is no significant effect of age on treatment outcomes in rTMS for TRD, though rating instruments may differ in assessment of symptom burden between younger and older adults during treatment.

Antiquarian and modern excavations at Castor, Cambs., have been taking place since the seventeenth century. The site, which lies under the modern village, has been variously described as a Roman villa, a guild centre and a palace, while Edmund Artis working in the 1820s termed it the ‘Praetorium’. The Roman buildings covered an area of 3.77 ha (9.4 acres) and appear to have had two main phases, the latter of which formed a single unified structure some 130 by 90 m. This article attempts to draw together all of the previous work at the site and provide a comprehensive plan, a set of suggested dates, and options on how the remains could be interpreted.

A figurine unique for Roman Britain is described and analysed, showing that its attributes conflate those of several classical deities, all of whom might have been associated in the mind of the donor with the Romano-Celtic goddess, Senuna.

Two hundred and forty women with young children who were patients in a Harrogate general practice were studied. About a third of them were found to be suffering from ‘mental distress’. Younger mothers were more affected. The number and spacing of their children were not related to symptoms of depression and anxiety, but poor personal relationships and difficulties getting out and about were so related, despite relatively affluent circumstances. Children of distressed mothers were more inclined to be disturbed. A controlled trial using amitryptyline involving 25 of the women suggested that this drug can improve depressive symptoms under these circumstances and that the improvement is likely to be maintained over the course of a year.

We give a new proof that a finitely generated congruence-distributive variety has finitely determined syntactic congruences (or, equivalently, term finite principal congruences), and show that the same does not hold for finitely generated congruence-permutable varieties, even underthe additional assumption that the variety is residually very finite.

The tripeptide glutathione is proposed to be protective against a number of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease and cancer. However, there have been few studies of plasma glutathione levels in humans and in those studies the numbers of participants have been very small. In an exploratory analysis the determinants of plasma total glutathione (GSHt) were investigated in a group of 100 volunteers aged 18–61 years in Atlanta, Georgia, USA during June and July 1989. Data on demographic and health-related factors were collected by interview and plasma GSHt was measured using a recently modified laboratory method. The mean concentration of plasma GSHt for all 100 participants was 761 μg/l, with a standard deviation of 451 μg/l, a range of 86–2889 μg/1 and a median of 649 μg/l. Men had significantly higher levels of plasma GSHt than women (924 v. 692 μg/l; P = 0·006). Seventh-day Adventists participating in the present study had higher plasma GSHt levels than other subgroups defined by race and/or religion. Among Seventh-day Adventists consumption of a vegetarian diet was associated with increased plasma GSHt concentration (P = 0·002). Plasma GSHt levels also appeared to vary by race, but relationships with race could not be clearly disassociated from relationships with religion. Among white participants plasma GSHt concentration decreased with age in women but increased with age in men (P = 0·05). Few other factors were associated with plasma GSHt concentration, although use of oral contraceptives (P = 0·10) was somewhat associated with decreased plasma GSHt levels. These findings suggest that plasma GSHt levels may vary with several demographic and health-related attributes and support the need for further research on this potentially important disease-preventive compound.