Baseline depression levels do not affect efficacy of cognitive-behavioral self-help treatment for insomnia

Background Cognitive-behavioral therapy can effectively treat insomnia (CBT-I). Randomized controlled trials have shown efficacy of self-help CBT-I, but unclear is whether excluding depressive patients boosted treatment effects. Method We administered unsupported self-help CBT-I to insomnia patients with low and high depression levels. Based on the validated Centre of Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale, the internet-recruited sample (N = 479) was divided into three groups: low depression scores (n = 198), mild depression scores (n = 182), and high depression scores (n = 99). Follow-ups were 4 and 18 weeks after completion of the treatment. Results At 4-week follow-up, all groups had a similar amelioration on the primary sleep measures (d = 0.1-0.7; P < 0.05) and the secondary insomnia ratings (d = 1.2; P < 0.001). The only difference was that the high/mild depression groups had a steeper reduction in depression (d = 1.0-1.1; P < 0.001) and anxiety scores (d = 0.7-0.8; P < 0.001) than the low depression group (depression and anxiety: d = 0.3; P < 0.01), possibly due to floor effects in the latter group. The observed effects were sustained at the 18-week follow-up. Conclusions This study showed that CBT-I is effective regardless of baseline depression levels. Treating the combination of insomnia and depression is an extra challenge since it is associated with increased sleep problems. These data may help us understand the relationship between insomnia and depression and indicate that self-help CBT-I may be a promising addition to regular depression treatment. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Mississippi River and Sea Surface Height Effects on Oil Slick Migration

Millions of barrels of oil escaped into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) after the 20 April, 2010 explosion of Deepwater Horizon (DH). Ocean circulation models were used to forecast oil slick migration in the GoM, however such models do not explicitly treat the effects of secondary eddy-slopes or Mississippi River (MR) hydrodynamics. Here we report oil front migration that appears to be driven by sea surface level (SSL) slopes, and identify a previously unreported effect of the MR plume: under conditions of relatively high river discharge and weak winds, a freshwater mound can form around the MR Delta. We performed temporal oil slick position and altimeter analysis, employing both interpolated altimetry data and along-track measurements for coastal applications. The observed freshwater mound appears to have pushed the DH oil slick seaward from the Delta coastline. We provide a physical mechanism for this novel effect of the MR, using a two-layer pressure-driven flow model. Results show how SSL variations can drive a cross-slope migration of surface oil slicks that may reach velocities of order km/day, and confirm a lag time of order 5–10 days between mound formation and slick migration, as observed form the satellite analysis. Incorporating these effects into more complex ocean models will improve forecasts of slick migration for future spills. More generally, large SSL variations at the MR mouth may also affect the dispersal of freshwater, nutrients and sediment associated with the MR plume

Improving biomass production and saccharification in Brachypodium distachyon through overexpression of a sucrose-phosphate synthase from sugarcane

The substitution of fossil by renewable energy sources is a major strategy in reducing CO2 emission and mitigating climate change. In the transport sector, which is still mainly dependent on liquid fuels, the production of second generation ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstock is a promising strategy to substitute fossil fuels. The main prerequisites on designated crops for increased biomass production are high biomass yield and optimized saccharification for subsequent use in fermentation processes. We tried to address these traits by the overexpression of a sucrose-phosphate synthase gene (SoSPS) from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. The resulting transgenic B. distachyon lines not only revealed increased plant height at early growth stages but also higher biomass yield from fully senesced plants, which was increased up to 52 % compared to wild-type. Additionally, we determined higher sucrose content in senesced leaf biomass from the transgenic lines, which correlated with improved biomass saccharification after conventional thermo-chemical pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Combining increased biomass production and saccharification efficiency in the generated B. distachyon SoSPS overexpression lines, we obtained a maximum of 74 % increase in glucose release per plant compared to wild-type. Therefore, we consider SoSPS overexpression as a promising approach in molecular breeding of energy crops for optimizing yields of biomass and its utilization in second generation biofuel production

Environmental impacts of the deep-water oil and gas industry: a review to guide management strategies

The industrialization of the deep sea is expanding worldwide. Increasing oil and gas exploration activities in the absence of sufficient baseline data in deep-sea ecosystems has made environmental management challenging. Here, we review the types of activities that are associated with global offshore oil and gas development in water depths over 200 m, the typical impacts of these activities, some of the more extreme impacts of accidental oil and gas releases, and the current state of management in the major regions of offshore industrial activity including 18 exclusive economic zones. Direct impacts of infrastructure installation, including sediment resuspension and burial by seafloor anchors and pipelines, are typically restricted to a radius of ~100 m on from the installation on the seafloor. Discharges of water-based and low-toxicity oil-based drilling muds and produced water can extend over 2 km, while the ecological impacts at the population and community levels on the seafloor are most commonly on the order of 200–300 m from their source. These impacts may persist in the deep sea for many years and likely longer for its more fragile ecosystems, such as cold-water corals. This synthesis of information provides the basis for a series of recommendations for the management of offshore oil and gas development. An effective management strategy, aimed at minimizing risk of significant environmental harm, will typically encompass regulations of the activity itself (e.g., discharge practices, materials used), combined with spatial (e.g., avoidance rules and marine protected areas), and temporal measures (e.g., restricted activities during peak reproductive periods). Spatial management measures that encompass representatives of all of the regional deep-sea community types is important in this context. Implementation of these management strategies should consider minimum buffer zones to displace industrial activity beyond the range of typical impacts: at least 2 km from any discharge points and surface infrastructure and 200 m from seafloor infrastructure with no expected discharges. Although managing natural resources is, arguably, more challenging in deep-water environments, inclusion of these proven conservation tools contributes to robust environmental management strategies for oil and gas extraction in the deep sea.Copyright © 2016 Cordes, Jones, Schlacher, Amon, Bernardino, Brooke, Carney, DeLeo, Dunlop, Escobar-Briones, Gates, Génio, Gobin, Henry, Herrera, Hoyt, Joye, Kark, Mestre, Metaxas, Pfeifer, Sink, Sweetman and Witte. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms