Eszopiclone for late-life insomnia

Insomnia, the most common sleep disturbance in later life, affects 20%–50% of older adults. Eszopiclone, a short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic agent developed for the treatment of insomnia, has been available in Europe since 1992 and in the US since 2005. Although not yet evaluated for transient insomnia in older adults, eszopiclone has been shown to be safe and efficacious for short-term treatment (2 weeks) of chronic, primary insomnia in older adults (64–91 years). Clinical studies in younger adults (mean = 44 years) have shown eszopiclone can be used for 6–12 months without evidence of problems. Because the oldest participant in these longer-term trials was 69, it not known whether eszopiclone is effective for older adults [particularly the old old (75–84 years) and oldest old (85+)] when used over longer periods. This is unfortunate, because older individuals frequently suffer from chronic insomnia. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia, which effectively targets the behavioral factors that maintain chronic insomnia, represents an attractive treatment alternative or adjuvant to eszopiclone for older adults. To date, no studies have compared eszopiclone to other hypnotic medications or to nonpharmacological interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia, in older adults. All of the clinical trials reported herein were funded by Sepracor. This paper provides an overview of the literature on eszopiclone with special emphasis on its use for the treatment of late-life insomnia. Specific topics covered include pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, clinical trial data, adverse events, drug interactions, tolerance/dependence, and economics/cost considerations for older adults

Highly hydrolytic reuteransucrase from probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri strain ATCC 55730

Lactobacillus reuteri strain ATCC 55730 (LB BIO) was isolated as a pure culture from a Reuteri tablet purchased from the BioGaia company. This probiotic strain produces a soluble glucan (reuteran), in which the majority of the linkages are of the α-(1→4) glucosidic type (∼70%). This reuteran also contains α-(1→6)- linked glucosyl units and 4,6-disubstituted α-glucosyl units at the branching points. The LB BIO glucansucrase gene (gtfO) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the GTFO enzyme was purified. The recombinant GTFO enzyme and the LB BIO culture supernatants synthesized identical glucan polymers with respect to linkage type and size distribution. GTFO thus is a reuteransucrase, responsible for synthesis of this reuteran polymer in LB BIO. The preference of GTFO for synthesizing α-(1→4) linkages is also evident from the oligosaccharides produced from sucrose with different acceptor substrates, e.g., isopanose from isomaltose. GTFO has a relatively high hydrolysis/transferase activity ratio. Complete conversion of 100 mM sucrose by GTFO nevertheless yielded large amounts of reuteran, although more than 50% of sucrose was converted into glucose. This is only the second example of the isolation and characterization of a reuteransucrase and its reuteran product, both found in different L. reuteri strains. GTFO synthesizes a reuteran with the highest amount of α-(1→4) linkages reported to date

A GIS framework for probabilistic modelling of coastal erosion and flood risk

The Coastal Zone is a complex and dynamic environment that is often highly developed with valuable property and businesses located within close proximity of the coast. Beaches can vary rapidly over time; their dynamic nature ultimately influencing the risk of coastal erosion and flooding of the Coastal Zone. Traditionally, deterministic models are used to investigate the evolution of the shoreline. Occasionally the results from one model are used as input to a complimentary model. Such approaches can be time consuming and tend to be used to explore a small number of predefined scenarios over short spatial and temporal scales. Probabilistic approaches can be employed to explore the potential outcomes that may occur due to natural variability in the climatic or stochastic forcing conditions. Such approaches allow the Coastal Zone Manager to understand the uncertainty associated with any management intervention that may be undertaken. By coupling chains of nearshore probabilistic models together it is possible to explore the potential impact of uncertainty on downstream processes. This paper presents a generic GIS based framework for integrated modelling of the coastal zone and presents a recent application of the framework to perform coupled probabilistic coastal evolution modelling

Выявление проблем загрязнения промышленных территорий нефтепродуктами через анализ многолетних наблюдений на режимных скважинах

The relevance of the study arises from the high technogenic impact on the environment of industrial zones, whose development associates with the production, storage, transportation, processing and consumption of oil and its products. Leaks, accidents, losses of products lead to the invasion of oil products into the environment that may results in serious environmental problems. Oil pollution is global in nature poisoning the biosphere and changing life conditions. The impact on the hydrosphere is one of the most significant, and is considered in this article on example of groundwater in industrial zones.Актуальность работы обусловлена высокой техногенной нагрузкой на окружающую среду промышленных зон, связанных с добычей, хранением, транспортировкой, переработкой и потреблением нефти и ее продуктов. Утечки, аварии, потери в производственных циклах приводят к поступлению нефтепродуктов  в окружающую среду, их воздействие вызывает серьезные экологические проблемы. Загрязнение нефтепродуктами носит глобальный характер, отравляя биосферу и меняя условия жизни. Загрязнение гидросферы – одно из наиболее существенных, рассматривается в статье на примере подземных вод промышленных зон

The influence of physical cohesion on scour around a monopile

© 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, London.We present experiments that systematically examine how the addition of physically cohesive clay to sand affects scour evolution around a monopile in a current. Repeated centreline transects are used to show the changes in scour depth and excavated material over time. Combined with 3D plots of the final equilibrium morphology, the results conclusively prove that clay content causes a progressive reduction in the equilibrium depth, excavated area and that timescales of scour increase with clay content. Winnowing of clay particles from the sand matrix is a pre-requisite for scour and differences in clay content influence the rate and extent of winnowing, ultimately controlling equilibrium scour morphology. The strong linear relationships between clay content and equilibrium scour parameters offers a simple index on which to modify existing scour prediction methods. It follows that improved predictions of scour development can reduce manufacturing costs and related logistical expenses of structure operations in fluvial, coastal or offshore environments

The New COAST Laboratory of Plymouth University: a World-Class Facility for Marine Energy

During the development of coastal, ocean engineering and marine renewables technology, physical modelling must be undertaken. The new COAST laboratory at Plymouth University comprises two wave basins and two wave flumes that can all produce waves and currents together. Initial commissioning experiments of the facilities show that the design specifications were met in the majority of cases or exceeded. Despite the newness of the laboratory, experiments to investigate the motion response of a wave energy converter and to investigate wave impacts on moored structures have been undertaken in collaboration with both universities and commercial clients

Effect of the Current-Wave Angle on the Local Scour around Circular Piles

This paper studies the effect of the wave front-current angle on the scour around a circular pile. An experimental study was carried out in the Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) laboratory at the University of Plymouth (UK) using a single monopile of 0.125 m in diameter and an 8 m long by 1.5 m wide by 0.2 m high sand pit. The results obtained during the test campaign show the influence of the angle between waves and currents on both the maximum scour depth and the time scale of the process. Wave fronts partially aligned with current (65°) produce deeper scour holes than perpendicular forcing conditions (90°). Wave fronts partially against the current (115°) produce less scour than any of the two previous scenarios. The addition of waves reduced the maximum scour depth, compared with the current-only case. The development of the scour hole was found to be more rapid when waves are added to the current, with 50% of the final scour achieved in half the time. The results show that wave direction relative to the current is an important component in scour prediction