Cognitive processes mediate the effects of insomnia treatment:evidence from a randomized wait-list controlled trial

INTRODUCTION: Both guided online and individual face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) are effective in improving insomnia symptoms and sleep efficiency. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms generating this effect. The present study tests the assumption that pre-sleep arousal, sleep-related worry and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep are mediators in the effect of cognitive behavioral treatment for insomnia. METHODS: A secondary analysis was performed on data previously collected from a randomized controlled trial (N = 90). In this trial, participants were randomized to either a face-to-face CBT-I condition, an internet-delivered CBT-I condition, or a wait-list group. This article reports on the efficacy of these interventions on pre-sleep arousal, sleep-related worry, and dysfunctional beliefs. Furthermore, we investigated whether these measures mediated the treatment effect on insomnia severity and sleep efficiency. RESULTS: Both treatment modalities were efficacious for these cognitive measures; however, face-to-face treatment showed superiority over the online treatment. All three cognitive measures mediated the effect on insomnia severity. Sleep-related worry and pre-sleep arousal mediated the effect on sleep efficiency, but dysfunctional beliefs did not. CONCLUSION: Overall, these results point toward the importance of cognitive processes in the treatment of insomnia, implying that psychological treatments for insomnia may best be guided by (also) targeting these cognitive processes

Theory of the thermoelectricity of intermetallic compounds with Ce or Yb ions

The thermoelectric properties of intermetallic compounds with Ce or Yb ions are explained by the single-impurity Anderson model which takes into account the crystal-field splitting of the 4{\it f} ground-state multiplet, and assumes a strong Coulomb repulsion which restricts the number of {\it f} electrons or {\it f} holes to $n_f\leq 1$ for Ce and $n_f^{hole}\leq 1$ for Yb ions. Using the non-crossing approximation and imposing the charge neutrality constraint on the local scattering problem at each temperature and pressure, the excitation spectrum and the transport coefficients of the model are obtained. The thermopower calculated in such a way exhibits all the characteristic features observed in Ce and Yb intermetallics. Calculating the effect of pressure on various characteristic energy scales of the model, we obtain the $(T,p)$ phase diagram which agrees with the experimental data on CeRu$_{2}$Si$_2$, CeCu$_{2}$Si$_2$, CePd$_{2}$Si$_2$, and similar compounds. The evolution of the thermopower and the electrical resistance as a function of temperature, pressure or doping is explained in terms of the crossovers between various fixed points of the model and the redistribution of the single-particle spectral weight within the Fermi window.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

Recognition of Face Identity and Emotion in Expressive Specific Language Impairment

Objective: To study face and emotion recognition in children with mostly expressive specific language impairment (SLI-E). Subjects and Methods: A test movie to study perception and recognition of faces and mimic-gestural expression was applied to 24 children diagnosed as suffering from SLI-E and an age-matched control group of normally developing children. Results: Compared to a normal control group, the SLI-E children scored significantly worse in both the face and expression recognition tasks with a preponderant effect on emotion recognition. The performance of the SLI-E group could not be explained by reduced attention during the test session. Conclusion: We conclude that SLI-E is associated with a deficiency in decoding non-verbal emotional facial and gestural information, which might lead to profound and persistent problems in social interaction and development. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Randomised trial of a decision aid and its timing for women being tested for a BRCA1/2 mutation

Contains fulltext : 57882.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of a decision aid (DA) and its timing in women being tested for a BRCA1/2 mutation. Women with and without a previous history of cancer were included after blood sampling for genetic testing. The DA consisted of a brochure and video providing information on screening and prophylactic surgery. To evaluate the impact of the DA, women were randomised to the DA group (n=184), receiving the DA 2 weeks after blood sampling, or to the control group (n=184). To evaluate the impact of timing, mutation carriers who had received the DA before the test result (n=47) were compared to mutation carriers who received the DA after the test result (n=42). Data were collected on well-being, treatment choice, decision and information related outcomes. The impact of the DA was measured 4 weeks after blood sampling. The impact of timing was measured 2 weeks after a positive test result. The DA had no impact on well-being. Regarding decision related outcomes, the DA group more frequently considered prophylactic surgery (P=0.02) corroborated with higher valuations (P=0.04). No differences were found for the other decision related outcomes. Regarding information related outcomes, the DA group felt better informed (P=0.00), was more satisfied with the information (P=0.00), and showed more accurate risk perceptions. Timing of the DA had no effect on any of the outcomes. No interactions were found between the DA and history of cancer. In conclusion, women being tested for a BRCA1/2 mutation benefit from the DA on information related outcomes. Because timing had no effect, the DA is considered useful either before or after the test result

Genomic Organization of H2Av Containing Nucleosomes in Drosophila Heterochromatin

H2Av is a versatile histone variant that plays both positive and negative roles in transcription, DNA repair, and chromatin structure in Drosophila. H2Av, and its broader homolog H2A.Z, tend to be enriched toward 5′ ends of genes, and exist in both euchromatin and heterochromatin. Its organization around euchromatin genes and other features have been described in many eukaryotic model organisms. However, less is known about H2Av nucleosome organization in heterochromatin. Here we report the properties and organization of individual H2Av nucleosomes around genes and transposable elements located in Drosophila heterochromatic regions. We compare the similarity and differences with that found in euchromatic regions. Our analyses suggest that nucleosomes are intrinsically positioned on inverted repeats of DNA transposable elements such as those related to the “1360” element, but are not intrinsically positioned on retrotransposon-related elements

RSF Governs Silent Chromatin Formation via Histone H2Av Replacement

Human remodeling and spacing factor (RSF) consists of a heterodimer of Rsf-1 and hSNF2H, a counterpart of Drosophila ISWI. RSF possesses not only chromatin remodeling activity but also chromatin assembly activity in vitro. While no other single factor can execute the same activities as RSF, the biological significance of RSF remained unknown. To investigate the in vivo function of RSF, we generated a mutant allele of Drosophila Rsf-1 (dRsf-1). The dRsf-1 mutant behaved as a dominant suppressor of position effect variegation. In dRsf-1 mutant, the levels of histone H3K9 dimethylation and histone H2A variant H2Av were significantly reduced in an euchromatic region juxtaposed with heterochromatin. Furthermore, using both genetic and biochemical approaches, we demonstrate that dRsf-1 interacts with H2Av and the H2Av-exchanging machinery Tip60 complex. These results suggest that RSF contributes to histone H2Av replacement in the pathway of silent chromatin formation

The Genomic Distribution and Function of Histone Variant HTZ-1 during C. elegans Embryogenesis

In all eukaryotes, histone variants are incorporated into a subset of nucleosomes to create functionally specialized regions of chromatin. One such variant, H2A.Z, replaces histone H2A and is required for development and viability in all animals tested to date. However, the function of H2A.Z in development remains unclear. Here, we use ChIP-chip, genetic mutation, RNAi, and immunofluorescence microscopy to interrogate the function of H2A.Z (HTZ-1) during embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans, a key model of metazoan development. We find that HTZ-1 is expressed in every cell of the developing embryo and is essential for normal development. The sites of HTZ-1 incorporation during embryogenesis reveal a genome wrought by developmental processes. HTZ-1 is incorporated upstream of 23% of C. elegans genes. While these genes tend to be required for development and occupied by RNA polymerase II, HTZ-1 incorporation does not specify a stereotypic transcription program. The data also provide evidence for unexpectedly widespread independent regulation of genes within operons during development; in 37% of operons, HTZ-1 is incorporated upstream of internally encoded genes. Fewer sites of HTZ-1 incorporation occur on the X chromosome relative to autosomes, which our data suggest is due to a paucity of developmentally important genes on X, rather than a direct function for HTZ-1 in dosage compensation. Our experiments indicate that HTZ-1 functions in establishing or maintaining an essential chromatin state at promoters regulated dynamically during C. elegans embryogenesis

Expression of P. falciparum var Genes Involves Exchange of the Histone Variant H2A.Z at the Promoter

Plasmodium falciparum employs antigenic variation to evade the human immune response by switching the expression of different variant surface antigens encoded by the var gene family. Epigenetic mechanisms including histone modifications and sub-nuclear compartmentalization contribute to transcriptional regulation in the malaria parasite, in particular to control antigenic variation. Another mechanism of epigenetic control is the exchange of canonical histones with alternative variants to generate functionally specialized chromatin domains. Here we demonstrate that the alternative histone PfH2A.Z is associated with the epigenetic regulation of var genes. In many eukaryotic organisms the histone variant H2A.Z mediates an open chromatin structure at promoters and facilitates diverse levels of regulation, including transcriptional activation. Throughout the asexual, intraerythrocytic lifecycle of P. falciparum we found that the P. falciparum ortholog of H2A.Z (PfH2A.Z) colocalizes with histone modifications that are characteristic of transcriptionally-permissive euchromatin, but not with markers of heterochromatin. Consistent with this finding, antibodies to PfH2A.Z co-precipitate the permissive modification H3K4me3. By chromatin-immunoprecipitation we show that PfH2A.Z is enriched in nucleosomes around the transcription start site (TSS) in both transcriptionally active and silent stage-specific genes. In var genes, however, PfH2A.Z is enriched at the TSS only during active transcription in ring stage parasites. Thus, in contrast to other genes, temporal var gene regulation involves histone variant exchange at promoter nucleosomes. Sir2 histone deacetylases are important for var gene silencing and their yeast ortholog antagonises H2A.Z function in subtelomeric yeast genes. In immature P. falciparum parasites lacking Sir2A or Sir2B high var transcription levels correlate with enrichment of PfH2A.Z at the TSS. As Sir2A knock out parasites mature the var genes are silenced, but PfH2A.Z remains enriched at the TSS of var genes; in contrast, PfH2A.Z is lost from the TSS of de-repressed var genes in mature Sir2B knock out parasites. This result indicates that PfH2A.Z occupancy at the active var promoter is antagonized by PfSir2A during the intraerythrocytic life cycle. We conclude that PfH2A.Z contributes to the nucleosome architecture at promoters and is regulated dynamically in active var genes