Remote work cuts car travel and emissions, but hurts public transit ridership

Public transit agencies may need to adapt to the rise of remote work

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Remote work could cut hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions from car travel – but at the cost of billions lost in public transit revenues, according to a new study.

Using the latest data on remote work and transportation behavior since the pandemic upended work arrangements, researchers at the University of Florida, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Peking University revealed how cities could meet their sustainability goals by promoting remote work.

The researchers found that a 10% increase in remote workers could lead to a 10% drop in carbon emissions from the transportation sector, or nearly 200 million tons of carbon dioxide a year across the U.S., thanks to fewer car trips. But the same proportion of remote work would reduce transit fare revenue by $3.7 billion nationally, a whopping 27% drop.

About 14% of the workforce exclusively works from home, but as many as half of all workers may work remotely at least part of the time, according to different surveys.

“Transit agencies need to be very concerned,” said Shenhao Wang, Ph.D., a professor of urban planning at UF who supervised the new study. “Yet overall we would expect less energy consumption from reduced car travel. So the picture is very complicated, and whether the effects are positive or negative depends on the stakeholder.”

Urban planners have long considered remote work as one way to reduce traffic congestion and carbon emissions. But before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was challenging to analyze the effects of remote work, because few employees worked from home. The rapid rise and continued investment in remote work caused by the pandemic finally allowed researchers the chance to see how the trend affects urban mobility.

The new study covered the period from April 2020 to October 2022 and included data from Google on remote work patterns, along with information from the Federal Highway Administration for car travel and a national database for transit ridership. The researchers correlated transportation behavior with the rise and fall in remote work in different states and metropolitan areas to uncover the effect of increased remote work on car travel and public transit.

They discovered that public transit ridership fell more than twice as fast as car travel did in response to the same drop in on-site workers.

“People mostly rely on transit to go to work. When people start to work from home, their need to commute is largely reduced. So, a large portion of transit ridership was no longer needed,” said Yunhan Zheng, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at MIT and lead author of the new paper. “On the other hand, many people rely on vehicles for trips other than going to work. They go shopping, they go to restaurants and leisure activities. Those activities may not necessarily disappear when people work from home.”

Because of these differences between driving and transit behavior, “this may pose a challenge for transit agencies in terms of their financial sustainability, so they may need to take some actions to cope with this. For example, they could provide more services during the off-peak hours in residential areas to better serve remote workers,” said Zheng.

Zheng, Wang and their collaborators published their findings on April 9 in Nature Cities. The researchers plan to continue analyzing the effects of remote work on urban mobility as new data becomes available and employment trends move further past the immediate effects of the pandemic. 

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JOURNAL

Nature Cities

DOI

10.1038/s44284-024-00057-1 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Impacts of remote work on vehicle miles traveled and transit ridership in the USA

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

9-Apr-2024

 

Humans can increase biodiversity

UNIVERSITY OF COLOGNE

Cultural diversity is likely to have an overall positive effect on the biodiversity of ecosystems. The homogenization of human life forms may therefore be regarded as an important motor of the ongoing major extinction events in the ‘Age of Humans’ (Anthropocene). Dr Shumon T. Hussain from the University of Cologne and Dr Chris Baumann from the University of Tübingen come to this conclusion in their recent article ‘The human side of biodiversity: coevolution of the human niche, paleo-synanthropy and ecosystem complexity in the deep human past’ published in the renowned journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The article fits into the current thematic focus ‘Multispecies Conviviality’ of the University of Cologne’s Research Hub MESH (Multidisciplinary Environmental Studies in the Humanities).

In their publication, the scientists examine the role of past humans in the evolution and control of biodiversity on our planet. The archaeologists offer a deep-time perspective grounded in material and ecological data to argue that the idea that humans had lived harmoniously with nature as hunter-gatherers mischaracterizes the fundamental problem of human interaction with ecosystems. The scientists also criticize that in the recent past, with regard to the aforementioned extinction events, the so-called biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene, attempts have often been made to highlight that people had actively intervened in their ecosystem more than 10,000 years ago, notably with negative consequences.

The researchers suggest that the relationship between humans and ecosystems has always been much more complicated and complex, and that, in addition to negative effects, there are also positive effects on biodiversity that follow certain rules. “Oftentimes, it can even be said that biodiversity loss occurs locally due to human activity, but biodiversity is strongly promoted elsewhere; these dynamics must therefore be placed in a wider context,” said Hussain.

The research combines various case studies from the Late Pleistocene (approx. 120,000 to 11,800 years before present) and is also based on a recent study of the two authors on ravens from the ice age, which shows that these birds benefited from humans as neighbours about 30,000 years ago – especially from food options that hunter-gatherers in the environment provided for these animals.

The archaeologists based their research on the results of zooarchaeological and stable isotope analyses, which were applied in the case of ravens, and used this and other already published, contextual archaeological information to show that such processes can lead to an increase in biodiversity on a local level. This is because certain animals benefit from human influence and others that are excluded locally by humans, such as larger predators, move to other areas. Overall, this increases the heterogeneity and complexity of such ecosystems, thereby often resulting in a positive effect on overall biodiversity.

“Ultimately, we try to argue that biodiversity regimes cannot be separated from human influence and that not all of these influences are merely negative,” explained Shumon Hussain. “It also follows that increased diversity in human life forms probably has an overall positive effect on biodiversity as a whole, and that a decisive driver of the biodiversity crisis in the Anthropocene is in part also the homogenization of human life in nature and with it.”

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JOURNAL

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences

DOI

10.1098/rstb.2023.0021 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

The human side of biodiversity: coevolution of the human niche, palaeo-synanthropy and ecosystem complexity in the deep human past

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Apr-2024

 

Unraveling the iconography of the Etruscan lamp of Cortona

A re-evaluation of the ancient bronze lamp concludes that it is a cult object associated with the mystery cult of the god Dionysus

DE GRUYTER

 

IMAGE: 

THE ETRUSCAN LAMP OF CORTONA

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CREDIT: MUSEO DELL'ACCADEMIA ETRUSCA E DELLA CITTÀ DI CORTONA

A large, highly decorated bronze lamp found in a ditch near the town of Cortona, central Italy, is significantly older than previously estimated and shows the god Dionysus, a new study published in De Gruyter’s Etruscan and Italic Studies argues.

The date of the lamp and the meaning and significance of its decorations have been the subject of controversy since its discovery in 1840. Now, PhD student Ronak Alburz and Associate Professor Gijs Willem Tol of the University of Melbourne, Australia, have used literary sources and other iconographic evidence to provide a comprehensive new analysis of the object.

The Cortona lamp is a bronze hanging oil lamp, roughly in the shape of a chandelier, measuring 60cm across and weighing almost 60kg. It originates from the Etruscan civilization of Archaic Etruria, a region of central Italy corresponding roughly to present-day Tuscany and part of Umbria. The Etruscan civilization thrived from about 900 BCE, but was gradually absorbed into the Roman Republic after about 400 BCE.

The Cortona lamp has defied a comprehensive and satisfactory explanation for two main reasons. Firstly, very few similar objects (‘comparanda’) have been discovered in Etruscan or Ancient Greek art, making it difficult to draw insightful comparisons. Secondly, the lamp lacks context, having been found with only an inscribed bronze plaque which originates from much later. This means there is no information about the building in which it was used or how it related to other artifacts. Scholars were therefore restricted to analyzing individual decorative motifs displayed on the lamp.

In their re-evaluation, Alburz and Tol identify new comparanda that indicate the lamp originated in about 480 BCE, significantly earlier than many other estimates.

They also argue that earlier scholars were incorrect in identifying the lamp’s 16 bull-horned figures as the Greek river god Acheloos. By drawing on various literary sources and presenting new iconographic evidence, they show that Dionysus, the Ancient Greek god of wine and pleasure, was also often portrayed with bull features. They thus propose that the lamp depicts the Dionysian thiasus, the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus who are often portrayed as inebriated revelers.

Lead author Alburz said: “The lamp was probably an object associated with the mystery cult of Dionysus. Its decoration represents the Dionysian thiasus, perhaps engaged in a cultic performance in the cosmos of the mysteries in celebration of Dionysus.”

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JOURNAL

Etruscan and Italic Studies

DOI

10.1515/etst-2023-0019 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Content analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

A Re-Evaluation of the Iconography of the Etruscan Bronze Lamp of Cortona

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

8-Apr-2024

 

Could new technique for ‘curving’ light be the secret to improved wireless communication?

In a breakthrough that could help revolutionize wireless communication, researchers unveiled a novel method for manipulating terahertz waves, allowing them to curve around obstacles instead of being blocked by them

BROWN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

A STUDY THAT COULD HELP REVOLUTIONIZE WIRELESS COMMUNICATION INTRODUCES A NOVEL METHOD TO CURVE TERAHERTZ SIGNALS AROUND AN OBSTACLE.

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CREDIT: ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED BY THE MITTLEMAN GROUP

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — While cellular networks and Wi-Fi systems are more advanced than ever, they are also quickly reaching their bandwidth limits. Scientists know that in the near future they’ll need to transition to much higher communication frequencies than what current systems rely on, but before that can happen there are a number of — quite literal — obstacles standing in the way.

Researchers from Brown University and Rice University say they’ve advanced one step closer to getting around these solid obstacles, like walls, furniture and even people — and they do it by curving light.

In a new study published in Communications Engineering, the researchers describe how they are helping address one of the biggest logjams emerging in wireless communication. Current systems rely on microwave radiation to carry data, but it’s become clear that the future standard for transmitting data will make use of terahertz waves, which have as much as 100 times the data-carrying capacity of microwaves. One longstanding issue has been that, unlike microwaves, terahertz signals can be blocked by most solid objects, making a direct line of sight between transmitter and receiver a logistical requirement.

“Most people probably use a Wi-Fi base station that fills the room with wireless signals,” said Daniel Mittleman, a professor in Brown’s School of Engineering and senior author of the study. “No matter where they move, they maintain the link. At the higher frequencies that we're talking about here, you won't be able to do that anymore. Instead, it's going to be a directional beam. If you move around, that beam is going to have to follow you in order to maintain the link, and if you move outside of the beam or something blocks that link, then you're not getting any signal.”

The researchers circumvented this by creating a terahertz signal that follows a curved trajectory around an obstacle, instead of being blocked by it. The novel method unveiled in the study could help revolutionize wireless communication and highlights the future feasibility of wireless data networks that run on terahertz frequencies, according to the researchers.

“We want more data per second,” Mittleman said. “If you want to do that, you need more bandwidth, and that bandwidth simply doesn't exist using conventional frequency bands.”

In the study, Mittleman and his colleagues introduce the concept of self-accelerating beams. The beams are special configurations of electromagnetic waves that naturally bend or curve to one side as they move through space. The beams have been studied at optical frequencies but are now explored for terahertz communication.

The researchers used this idea as a jumping off point. They engineered transmitters with carefully designed patterns so that the system can manipulate the strength, intensity and timing of the electromagnetic waves that are produced. With this ability to manipulate the light, the researchers make the waves work together more effectively to maintain the signal when a solid object blocks a portion of the beam. Essentially, the light beam adjusts to the blockage by shuffling data along the patterns the researchers engineered into the transmitter. When one pattern is blocked, the data transfers to the next one, and then the next one if that is blocked. This keeps the signal link fully intact. Without this level of control, when the beam is blocked, the system can’t make any adjustments, so no signal gets through.

This effectively makes the signal bend around objects as long as the transmitter is not completely blocked. If it is completely blocked, another way of getting the data to the receiver will be needed.

“Curving a beam doesn’t solve all possible blockage problems, but what it does is solve some of them and it solves them in a way that's better than what others have tried,” said Hichem Guerboukha, who led the study as a postdoctoral researcher at Brown and is now an assistant professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

The researchers validated their findings through extensive simulations and experiments navigating around obstacles to maintain communication links with high reliability and integrity. The work builds on a previous study from the team that showed terahertz data links can be bounced off walls in a room without dropping too much data.

By using these curved beams, the researchers hope to one day make wireless networks more reliable, even in crowded or obstructed environments. This could lead to faster and more stable internet connections in places like offices or cities where obstacles are common. Before getting to that point, however, there’s much more basic research to be done and plenty of challenges to overcome as terahertz communication technology is still in its infancy.

“One of the key questions that everybody asks us is how much can you curve and how far away,” Mittleman said. “We've done rough estimations of these things, but we haven't really quantified it yet, so we hope to map it out.”

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JOURNAL

Communications Engineering

DOI

10.1038/s44172-024-00206-3 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Computational simulation/modeling

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Curving THz wireless data links around obstacles

Problem property intervention in Boston reduced crime and disorder

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

Crime is concentrated in places that often lack capable landlords, and numerous U.S. cities have instituted problem property interventions that pressure landowners to better manage properties marked by decay, nuisance, or crime. In a new study, researchers conducted the first evaluation of the effectiveness of such a program in Boston. The study found that the intervention reduced crime and disorder relative to comparable matched properties and at adjacent properties for many years.

The study, by researchers with the Boston Area Research Initiative at Northeastern University, appears in Criminology, a publication of the American Society of Criminology.

“Problem property interventions are distinctive because they target a place and incentivize those legally responsible to improve its management,” explains Daniel T. O’Brien, professor of public policy and urban affairs and criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern University, who led the study. “We wanted to see if such interventions work.”

Researchers examined the effectiveness of Boston’s Problem Properties Task Force, which was established in 2011 as a multi-agency partnership to address criminal activity, nuisance, and unsanitary or unsafe living conditions at specific properties. Their evaluation, of more than 400 properties investigated by the task force from September 2011 to January 2020, assessed the program’s dual goals of mitigating crime and disorder at specific places and engaging and incentivizing property owners in that process.

The study matched properties targeted by the program to comparable properties, reporting changes not only in multiple forms of crime and disorder but also for proxies of enhanced property management, including records of investment in property improvements and changes in property ownership. As in other law enforcement programs, investigated parcels tended to be in Census tracts with greater concentrations of residents who were Black, Latinx, renters, and experiencing family poverty.

Boston’s Problem Properties Task Force intervention reduced crime and physical disorder at target locations. The program appears to have given property owners incentives to either manage their properties better (as seen in new investments in the physical conditions of a property) or sell the property someone who was presumably more willing or capable to properly tend to the location.

These benefits spilled over to nearby properties, with crime and disorder declining at other parcels on the same street after a property was investigated. Effects persisted for many years after an intervention, indicating that they were not due solely to heightened enforcement during the intervention and implying a fundamental shift in properties’ dynamics.

However, crime and disorder did not drop at other properties owned by property owners who had been investigated. This suggests that targeting a problem property can have immediate effects for the property and the street where it is located, but does not compel landlords to extend their improved practices to all their holdings.

“Our study represents a significant step forward in elucidating the mechanisms behind place-focused crime reduction strategies that target place owners, not just locations,” notes Michael Zoorob, a fellow at Northeastern University’s Boston Area Research Initiative, who coauthored the study. “Place management is a malleable characteristic that governments can alter through incentives, including scrutiny and fines.”

Among the study’s limitations, the authors note that their study needs to be replicated in other locations to evaluate whether their findings are generalizable outside Boston. Also, while the study demonstrated that such interventions can be effective, it did not determine what strategies were responsible for eliminating issues. In addition, the authors note potential biases in both the administrative data they used and the process for nominating problem properties.

The study was supported by the National Science Foundation.

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JOURNAL

Criminology

DOI

10.1111/1745-9125.12361 

ARTICLE TITLE

Pacifying problem places: How problem property interventions increase guardianship and reduce disorder and crime

Eco-effective cooling: a step forward in sustainable refrigeration

KEAI COMMUNICATIONS CO., LTD.

 

IMAGE: 

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE CACRC SYSTEM

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CREDIT: YUHAN DU, ET AL

A recent study has unveiled a significant advancement in refrigeration technology. This work introduces an optimized Compression-Absorption Cascade Refrigeration Cycle (CACRC) that remarkably reduces electricity consumption and capitalizes on waste heat, setting new benchmarks in refrigeration efficiency and sustainability.

The Compression-Absorption Cascade Refrigeration Cycle (CACRC) system, merging Vapor-Compression Refrigeration (VCR) with Absorption Refrigeration Cycle (ARC), presents a promising answer to the pressing energy demands and environmental concerns associated with traditional cooling methods. While the VCR is celebrated for its superior performance and ability to achieve low temperatures at a high energy cost, the ARC, in contrast, operates with minimal electricity, utilizing waste heat. This harmonious combination has generated keen interest in CACRC, recognizing its potential utility in critical areas such as food preservation and district cooling.

Recently, researchers from Xi'an Jiaotong University have fine-tuned the CACRC. Their detailed study (DOI: 10.1016/j.enss.2024.02.003) was published in Energy Storage and Saving in February 2024, highlighting the integration of vapor-compression and absorption refrigeration cycles. This blend achieves considerable reductions in electricity use while efficiently leveraging waste heat.

 Exploring a dual-section mechanism that combines vapor-compression with absorption refrigeration technologies, the research team conducted a thorough analysis of 16 distinct refrigerants in the vapor compression section, paired with H2O-LiBr in the absorption section. This meticulous examination aimed to identify the most efficient and eco-friendly combinations, revealing the RE170/H2O-LiBr pair as the standout performer. This pair demonstrated the highest coefficient of performance and exergy efficiency among all candidates. Further investigation into the system's dynamics, including the impacts of generator and evaporator temperatures, cascade temperature differences, and the effectiveness of the solution heat exchanger, enriched the study's findings.

Xiaopo Wang, the study's lead author, noted, "This breakthrough not only marks a significant step towards more sustainable refrigeration practices but also reflects our dedication to pioneering solutions that can revolutionize industries and contribute to the preservation of our planet's resources."

The culmination of this research offers a solid foundation for a refrigeration system that not only drastically reduces electricity consumption by harnessing waste heat but also advocates for a sustainable cooling approach across various industries, including food preservation and district cooling. This study heralds the dawn of a new era in refrigeration technology, emphasizing the critical balance between environmental stewardship and economic feasibility.

###

Media contact: Name: Yue Yang / Email: enss@xjtu.edu.cn

The publisher KeAi was established by Elsevier and China Science Publishing & Media Ltd to unfold quality research globally. In 2013, our focus shifted to open access publishing. We now proudly publish more than 100 world-class, open access, English language journals, spanning all scientific disciplines. Many of these are titles we publish in partnership with prestigious societies and academic institutions, such as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

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JOURNAL

Energy Storage and Saving

DOI

10.1016/j.enss.2024.02.003 

ARTICLE TITLE

Energy, exergy, and economic analysis of compression-absorption cascade refrigeration cycle using different working fluids

 

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) shown to reduce severity of certain mental illnesses

EUROPEAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION

Researchers have found that Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), where an electric current is passed through the brain, can reduce the severity of mental illnesses.

ECT is a safe and effective treatment for some mental illnesses including severe/psychotic depression, postnatal psychosis and mania.[1],[2] Patients are placed under general anaesthetic and the brain is stimulated with short electric pulses.[3] This causes a brief seizure which lasts for less than two minutes.[3]

The use of ECT across Scotland was assessed over an 11-year period from 2009 to 2019 using data from the Scottish Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Audit Network (SEAN). The Scotland-wide naturalistic study assessed the efficacy and side effects of ECT across a range of common mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar depression, schizophrenia, and mania.

Key findings from the study include:

• ECT was shown to be effective in reducing illness severity, as measured by Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI-S). CGI-S is a validated clinician administered assessment tool which measures illness severity.  
• 2,920 ECT episodes had CGI-S scores recorded for patients before and after treatment. The mean CGI-S score prior to treatment indicated marked illness severity (5.03 95% CI 4.99-5.07), whilst after treatment, the mean CGI-S score was reduced to 2.07, (95% CI 2.03-2.11) indicating a reduction to borderline illness severity.  
• The study also assessed side effects of ECT.  Anaesthetic complications and prolonged seizures were rare, occurring in <1% of treatment episodes. Cardiovascular complications were reported in 2.2%. Nausea was reported in 7.2% and muscle aches in 12%. Confusion was reported in 19% and cognitive side effects in 26.2%.

Dr Julie Langan Martin, Senior Clinical Lecturer in Psychiatry, Director of Education at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, said “Our findings from this large naturalistic study across Scotland from over an 11-year period reinforce the widely held, but nonetheless underexplored view, that ECT is both a safe and effective treatment when delivered to appropriate groups of people with severe mental illness. Monitoring of side effects, especially cognitive side effects should be undertaken carefully and rigorously in all patients receiving ECT.”

“This study on ECT presents compelling evidence of its effectiveness in reducing the severity of mental illnesses, with major side effects found to be rare. It challenges common misconceptions and stigmas associated with ECT, providing valuable insights that can reshape public perceptions and stimulate informed discussions among healthcare professionals,” said Dr Julian Beezhold, Secretary General of the European Psychiatric Association.

The European Congress of Psychiatry takes place from 6-9 April 2024 in Budapest, Hungary, and represents Europe’s largest congress dedicated to psychiatry, with over 4000 participants: epa-congress.org.

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Notes to editors

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): A Scotland Wide Naturalistic Study of 4,826 treatment episodes (O0100)

Introduction: Despite its apparent efficacy in the treatment of a range of psychiatric disorders, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is viewed by some as a contentious treatment. Although most clinicians and researchers consider ECT a safe and effective treatment, there are ongoing and significantly publicised concerns about potential side effects.

Objectives: To explore use of ECT across Scotland in a large naturalistic clinical sample across an 11-year period from 2009 to 2019. To consider the efficacy and side effects of ECT for a range of common psychiatric disorders including, depression, bipolar depression, schizophrenia, and mania.

Methods: Using data from the Scottish Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) Accreditation Network (SEAN), information was collected for all adults who had received ECT. Variables included age, sex, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) diagnosis, indication for ECT, Mental Health Act status, consent status, entry and exit Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scores (MADRS), entry and exit Clinical Global Index Severity CGI-S) scores and reported side effects. Side effects were recorded as present if the side effect was reported at any point during the episode of treatment.

Results: 4826 ECT episodes were recorded. The majority of episodes were in women (68.4%, n=3,301). Average age at treatment onset was 58.52 years. Males were slightly younger (m=58.24 years vs f= 58.65 years, p= 0.20). Mean number of treatments/episode was 9.59 (95% CI 9.32 – 9.85). Mean treatment dose delivered was 277.75mC (95%CI 272.88 – 282.63mC).

2920 episodes of treatment had CGI-S entry and exit recorded. At entry, mean CGI-S indicated marked illness (5.03 95% CI 4.99-5.07). Recipients with schizophrenia had the highest CGI-S score (5.45 95% CI 5.21-5.60), followed by those with post-partum disorders (5.38, 95% CI 4.61-6.14). At exit, mean CGI scores indicated borderline illness (2.07, 95% CI 2.03-2.11), recipients diagnosed with mixed affective state had the lowest CGI-S score (1.72, 95% CI 0.99-2.47) followed by those with schizoaffective disorder (2.01, 95% CI 1.76-2.42).

Anaesthetic complications (n=34) and prolonged seizures (n=38) were rare, occurring in <1% of treatment episodes. Cardiovascular complications were reported in 2.2% (n= 102). Nausea was reported in 7.2% (n= 334) and muscle aches in 12% (n=560). Confusion was reported in 19% (n=879) and cognitive side effects were reported in 26.2% (n=1212). One third of treatment episodes reported confusion or cognitive side effects (33.1%, n=1545).

Conclusions: From this large naturalistic clinical sample, ECT appears to be effective in improving illness severity as measured by CGI-S score. While some side effects (such as prolonged seizures and cardiovascular complications) were rare, others (such as confusion or cognitive side effects) were relatively common.

Disclosure of interest: None declared.

 

About the European Psychiatric Association

With active individual members in as many as 88 countries and 44 National Psychiatric Association Members who represent more than 78,000 European psychiatrists, the European Psychiatric Association is the main association representing psychiatry in Europe. The EPA’s activities address the interests of psychiatrists in academia, research and practice throughout all stages of career development. The EPA deals with psychiatry and its related disciplines and focuses on the improvement of care for the mentally ill as well as on the development of professional excellence. More information: https://www.europsy.net/

 

References

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[1] Park MJ, Kim H, Kim EJ, Yook V, Chung IW, Lee SM, Jeon HJ. Recent Updates on Electro-Convulsive Therapy in Patients with Depression. Psychiatry Investig. 2021 Jan;18(1):1-10. doi: 10.30773/pi.2020.0350. Epub 2021 Jan 19. PMID: 33321557; PMCID: PMC7897863.

[2] Elias A, Thomas N, Sackeim HA. Electroconvulsive Therapy in Mania: A Review of 80 Years of Clinical Experience. Am J Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 1;178(3):229-239. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20030238. Epub 2020 Nov 10. PMID: 33167675.

[3] Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Royal College of Psychiatrists. Available at: www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/treatments-and-wellbeing/ect (Accessed: February 2024).

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Observational study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

 

Avoidance, confusion, solitude: whales react to rising noise pollution

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

 

VIDEO: 

THIS IS WHALE MIGRATION IN A FUTURE OCEAN SOUNDSCAPE, WHERE THE MAJOR CONTRIBUTION TO UNDERWATER NOISE IS FROM SHIPPING ACTIVITY. HERE THIS ACTIVITY IS CREATING REGIONS THAT WHALES WANT TO AVOID DUE TO THE HIGH LEVELS OF NOISE. WE CAN SEE THAT THE WHALES TEND TO BE LOCATED IN REGIONS OF LOWER NOISE (DARKER BLUE), AND END UP TRAPPED BEHIND A WALL OF NOISE AT THE END OF THE SIMULATION. ANIMATION: SUPPLIED BY DR STUART JOHNSTON

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CREDIT: DR STUART JOHNSTON, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Researchers from the University of Melbourne and Politecnico di Torino report that shipping, sonar, exploration, and offshore construction are interfering with the whale songs and other acoustic communication many whales rely on to broadcast information to each other during migration.    

University of Melbourne mathematician Dr Stuart Johnston, who co-authored the paper published in Movement Ecology, said the simulation study suggests the current soundscape for whales – compared to pre-industrial conditions – might be causing a three-to-four-day delay in migration arrivals, representing an extra 20 per cent in travel time. If noise levels continue to rise, the model suggests some whales may never reach their destination, due to either drifting off course or avoiding loud noises blocking their route. 

“We found that human-made noise is having three main effects on migration: it’s reducing the ability to hear acoustic communication like songs among whales, it’s generating an avoidance response when sufficiently loud, and it’s lowering the detection of environmental cues that some whales use to inform navigation,” Dr Johnston said.  

“Baleen [toothless] whales such as minke whales, humpback whales and blue whales are renowned for their extraordinary acoustic communication, which can cross hundreds of kilometres, because sound travels a long way in water. We know noise pollution affects whale behaviour, reducing their communication range, and increasing their stress levels, which has been linked to strandings. But it hasn’t been known to what extent – that’s what we wanted to explore,” he said.   

Using data of ships in the North Sea and their noise, researchers constructed sound maps and a sophisticated model that simulates how noise might affect whale migration. The model, which simulated the behaviour of 100 minke whales, also predicted the effect of future noise increases such as shipping, naval sonar operations, seismic exploration by gas industries, and offshore construction on whale migration. 

“Whales rely on sounds from each other and from their environment to navigate through the vast oceans. Noise from sonar systems, shipping and construction is reducing the detection of environmental cues that may tell whales where to go. For example, icebergs clashing under the sea makes a very loud noise, which could inform whales what direction to move towards to find cooler polar waters. If they can no longer detect the sound, they are losing a key piece of information to help them navigate,” Dr Johnston said.  

“We also looked at what makes whales avoid a migration route. If there’s loud drilling happening outside a meeting room, you wouldn’t want to use that room. Similarly, whales will avoid an uncomfortable environment when there is significant noise, and this could lead to increased journey time or even failure to arrive.”  

Whales tend to migrate to cooler waters in summer and warmer waters in winter, following food sources and to breed and give birth where conditions are best for their calves. Dr Johnston said extra migration time due to noise interference would leave whales with less time and energy for breeding and searching for food, as well as creating the need to replenish the lost energy.  

“These incredible animals journey up to 10,000km each year during migration – it’s a huge investment of time and energy. We must find a solution within the shipping and construction industries that don’t come at the cost of whale activity and breeding,” Dr Johnston said.  

“The traffic in our oceans is predicted to go up by at least another 50 per cent by 2050. We need to make informed decisions about our continued activities in the ocean, and it’s important that these decisions are driven by science,” he said. 

The research was co-funded by the Australian Research Council and the MIUR-Dipartimento di Eccellenza. 

-ends-

1

Animation - whale migration (C [VIDEO] 

2

Animation - whale migration (s [VIDEO] | 

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Animation - whale migration (p [VIDEO] 

JOURNAL

Movement Ecology

ARTICLE TITLE

Avoidance, confusion or solitude? Modelling how noise pollution affects whale migration