Methyl halide production in fungi

Methyl halide gases are a source of halogen radicals that can react with and destroy stratospheric ozone. The sources of methyl halide gases are both anthropogenic and biogenic, that is, they are human induced and they occur naturally. This research focused on the emission of methyl betides from fungi in the phylum Basidiomycota, which are one of the known biogenic sources. Previous studies have measured methyl halide production and consumption in soils using field chambers. The objective of this study was to compare production from individual fungi in laboratory cultures to the field measured fluxes to examine whether fungi are a significant source of methyl halide emissions. This study included fungi from four different ecosystems: an agricultural field, a temperate forest, a fresh water wetland, and coastal salt marshes in southern New Hampshire, USA. Fungal samples were collected from each site and cultured in the laboratory using tissue culture, wood bait, and direct soil plating methods. Once pure isolates were obtained, the fungi were assayed for methyl halide production using cryotrapping-gas chromatography. Samples of headspace gas were extracted from flasks containing fungi grown in liquid media or soil substrate and measured on a gas chromatograph/electron capture detector (GC/ECD). By sampling individual fungi from different ecosystems and assaying them in media and soil substrate the halide ratio from fungi could be examined. Two types of statistical analyses were used to determine the methyl halide fluxes: linear least squares fit of the methyl halide concentration vs. time, and a Bayesian model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling. Both statistical methods calculated a slope of the flux for each flask. The fluxes were averaged by isolate, and then normalized to mass by dividing by fungal biomass. The Bayesian model provided a rigorous analysis of the data that could be compared to data derived from the traditional linear fit method in order to determine whether a linear regression fit causes an over-estimation of the production rate. Methyl halide production was observed in fungi collected from all of the sites. Specifically, the highest levels of methyl halides were produced in all species of fungi isolated from salt marshes; the highest levels of methyl bromide were produced by basidiomycetes from all sites and zygomycete isolates from the freshwater fen; the non-basidiomycete fungi isolated from the freshwater fen and from the salt marshes produced the highest levels of methyl iodide. Although the primary focus was methyl halide production in basidiomycetes, the results clearly show that the non-basidiomycete fungi are a potential source of methyl halide emissions that may represent a greater environmental significance than expected from basidiomycetes

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Comparison Of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy And Clonazepam For Treating Periodic Limb Movement Disorder.

Many patients with periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) display inadequate sleep hygiene, and others decline conventional pharmacologic intervention for their form of sleep disturbance. Nonetheless, the use of nonpharmacologic therapies with PLMD remains unexplored. The current study was designed to compare the short-term treatment effects of a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and conventional pharmacotherapy (clonazepam) among a group of insomniacs with PLMD. The 16 subjects participating in this study first underwent baseline assessment procedures, including completion of a sleep log for 2 weeks, an ambulatory polysomnogram (APSG) and an Insomnia Symptom Questionnaire (ISQ). They then were randomized either to CBT (n = 8) or standard clonazepam therapy (n = 8). Subjects maintained sleep logs throughout a 4-week treatment and then completed a second APSG and ISQ. Comparison of pre- and post-treatment data suggested that the two treatments led to equal improvements in sleep log measures of sleep-wake times and ISQ measures of subjective sleep concerns. Patients treated with CBT showed a decrease in daytime napping, whereas the clonazepam group reported increased napping. Conversely, those treated with clonazepam showed larger declines in periodic limb movement-arousals per hour of sleep than did the CBT group. Post-treatment interviews suggested that both CBT and clonazepam therapies were generally well tolerated by study participants. It is concluded that both treatments may be useful for PLMD but that the two treatments may have contrasting effects across selected measures of improvement. Additional research is needed to examine the long-term efficacy of CBT as a primary or adjunctive treatment for varying levels of PLMD severity

Sleep In The Laboratory And Sleep At Home: Comparisons Of Older Insomniacs And Normal Sleepers.

Many laboratory polysomnographic (LPSG) studies have shown only modest sleep differences between insomniacs and matched, noncomplaining normal controls. However, the extent to which LPSG methodology affects the outcome of such comparisons has yet to be tested. In the current investigation, 32 (16 females, 16 males) older (age \u3e or = 60 years) insomniacs and an age-matched and gender-matched sample of 32 noncomplaining normal sleepers underwent three consecutive nights of LPSG monitoring and another three consecutive nights of PSG monitoring in their homes (HPSG). By random assignment, one-half of the subjects in each group underwent LPSG first, whereas the remaining subjects underwent HPSG first. Each PSG recording was blindly scored using conventional scoring criteria, and resulting measures of total sleep period, total sleep time, sleep efficiency percent, stage 1 time, slow-wave sleep time, and rapid eye movement latency were used to compare the two subject groups within each PSG recording site (i.e. lab and home). Statistical analyses showed the normals sleepers and insomniacs evidenced similar pronounced first night effects (FNEs) when undergoing LPSG. However, neither mean values of the selected sleep parameters nor measures reflecting their night-to-night variability differentiated the insomniacs from the normal sleepers when such measures were derived from LPSG. In contrast, FNEs were generally absent for both subject groups when they underwent HPSG. Moreover, the insomniacs displayed significantly greater variability in several of their sleep measures during HPSG than did the normal sleepers. Overall, results suggest FNEs are a concern mainly when using LPSG, and HPSG may be more sensitive than LPSG for documenting sleep differences between normal sleepers and insomniacs. Additional studies are needed to determine if the findings reported herein are similar for young and middle-aged adults

Positive Aspects of Having Had Cancer: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Responses from the American Cancer Society Study of Cancer Survivors-II (SCS-II)

Objective This study focused on understanding positive aspects of cancer among a large, national sample of survivors, 2, 5, and 10 years\u27 postcancer diagnosis, who responded to the American Cancer Society Study of Cancer Survivors - II (SCS-II) survey “Please tell us about any positive aspects of having cancer.” Methods A sequential mixed methods approach examined (1) thematic categories of positive aspects from cancer survivors (n = 5149) and (2) variation in themes by sociodemographics, cancer type, stage of disease, and length of survivorship. Results Themes comprised 21 positive aspects within Thornton\u27s typology of benefits that cancer survivors attribute to their illness: life perspectives, self, and relationships. New themes pertaining to gratitude and medical support during diagnosis and treatment, health-related changes, follow-up/surveillance, and helping others emerged that are not otherwise included in widely used existing benefit finding cancer scales. Gratitude and appreciation for life were the most frequently endorsed themes. Sociodemographics and stage of disease were associated with positive aspect themes. Themes were not associated with survivor cohorts. Conclusions No differences in perceived positive aspects across survivor cohorts suggest that positive aspects of cancer may exist long after diagnosis for many survivors. However, variation across sociodemographics and clinical variables suggests cancer survivors differentially experience positive aspects from their cancer diagnosis. Implications for Cancer Survivors This analysis provides new information about cancer survivors\u27 perceptions of positive aspects from their cancer and factors associated with benefit finding and personal growth. This information can be useful in further refining quality-of-life measures and interventions for cancer survivors

Do Our Methods Lead To Insomniacs’ Madness?: Daytime Testing After Laboratory And Home-Based Polysomnographic Studies.

Complaints of daytime dysfunction are common among chronic insomniacs, but laboratory comparisons of insomniacs and age-matched and gender-matched normal controls have generally failed to document these complaints. However, a few studies, which allowed subjects to sleep in their homes on the nights before daytime testing, have shown some relative diurnal deficits among insomniacs. The current study compared the effects of nocturnal laboratory and home polysomnogram (PSG) studies on subsequent daytime test results among older insomniacs and normal sleepers. Insomniacs (n = 32) and normal sleepers (n = 32) were randomly assigned to first undergo three nights of nocturnal PSG monitoring either in the sleep laboratory (16 insomniacs, 16 normal sleepers) or in their homes (16 insomniacs, 16 normal sleepers). Following the third night of PSG monitoring, subjects spent 1 day in the sleep laboratory, where they completed a four-trial multiple sleep latency test along with four trials of a computer-administered performance test battery. Results showed that insomniacs, as a group, were slightly, albeit consistently, sleepier than were normal sleepers following nights of home sleep monitoring, but a reverse of this trend was found among subjects who underwent nocturnal laboratory PSG before daytime testing. Furthermore, normal sleepers showed faster reaction times on a signal detection task than did insomniacs within the subgroup who underwent home PSGs prior to such testing. However, within the subgroup that underwent nocturnal laboratory PSGs, insomniacs\u27 signal detection reaction times were significantly faster than those shown by normal sleepers. Results provide some support for the speculation that the nocturnal PSG monitoring site, used as a precursor to daytime testing, may systematically affect daytime comparisons between insomniacs and matched controls. Moreover, these results suggest that the use of home-based nocturnal PSG monitoring prior to daytime testing may provide an enhanced understanding of insomniacs\u27 diurnal complaints

Insomnia And The Eye Of The Beholder: Are There Clinical Markers Of Objective Sleep Disturbances Among Adults With And Without Insomnia Complaints?

Previous findings suggest that some who report insomnia sleep well, whereas some noncomplaining individuals sleep rather poorly. This study was conducted to determine if mood, anxiety, and sleep-related beliefs might relate to perceived sleep disturbance. Thirty-two women and 32 men (aged 40–79 years) with primary insomnia and an aged-matched sample of 61 normal sleepers (31 women, 30 men) completed 6 nocturnal sleep recordings, as well as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Trait portion of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-2), and the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes About Sleep Questionnaire. Sleep and interview data were used to subdivide the majority of the sample (n = 108) into objective normal sleepers and subjective insomnia sufferers who seemingly slept well and subjective normal sleepers and objective insomnia sufferers who slept poorly. The 2 subjective subgroups showed the most marked differences on most of the psychometric measures. The findings suggest that the psychological factors scrutinized in this study may mediate sleep satisfaction and/or predict objective sleep difficultie

Changes in Breast Cancer Risk Distribution Among Vermont Women Using Screening Mammography

BACKGROUND: Screening mammography utilization in Vermont has declined since 2009 during a time of changing screening guidelines and increased interest in personalized screening regimens. This study evaluates whether the breast cancer risk distribution of the state’s screened population changed during the observed decline. METHODS: We examined the breast cancer risk distribution among screened women between 2001 and 2012 using data from the Vermont Breast Cancer Surveillance System. We estimated each screened woman’s 5-year risk of breast cancer using the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium risk calculator. Annual screening counts by risk group were normalized and age-adjusted to the Vermont female population by direct standardization. RESULTS: The normalized rate of low-risk (5-year breast cancer risk of <1%) women screened increased 8.3% per year (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.8 to 11.9) between 2003 and 2008 and then declined by −5.4% per year (95% CI = −8.1 to −2.6) until 2012. When stratified by age group, the rate of low-risk women screened declined −4.4% per year (95% CI = −8.8 to 0.1; not statistically significant) for ages 40 to 49 years and declined a statistically significant −7.1% per year (95% CI = −12.1 to −2.0) for ages 50 to 74 years during 2008 to 2012. These declines represented the bulk of overall decreases in screening after 2008, with rates for women categorized in higher risk levels generally exhibiting small annual changes. CONCLUSIONS: The observed decline in women screened in Vermont in recent years is largely attributable to reductions in screening visits by women who are at low risk of developing breast cancer

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit