IntroductionStudies have found that people with Multiple Sclerosis experience relatively high rates of anxiety and depression. Although methodologically robust, many of these studies had access to only modest sample sizes (N<200). The aims of this study were to use responses gained via the web portal of the UK MS Register (N>4000) to: describe the depression and anxiety profiles of people with MS; to determine if anxiety and depression are related to age or disease duration; and to assess whether the levels of anxiety and depression differ between genders and types of MS.MethodsFrom its launch in May 2011 to the end of December 2011, 7786 adults with MS enrolled to take part in the UK MS Register via the web portal. The responses to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were collated with basic demographic and descriptive MS data provided at registration and the resulting dataset was analysed in SPSS (v.16).ResultsThe mean HADS score among the 4178 respondents was 15.7 (SE 0.117, SD 7.55) with a median of 15.0 (IQR 11). Anxiety and depression rates were notably high, with over half (54.1%) scoring ≥8 for anxiety and 46.9% scoring ≥8 for depression. Women with relapsing-remitting MS were more anxious than men with this type (p<0.001), and than women with other types of MS (p = 0.017). Within each gender, men and women with secondary progressive MS were more depressed than men or women with other types of MS (p<0.001, p<0.001).ConclusionsThis largest known study of its kind has shown that anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in people with MS, indicating that their mental health needs could be better addressed. These findings support service planning and further research to provide the best care for people with MS to help alleviate these debilitating conditions.

Documented increases in global atmospheric CO2 concentration have stimulated interest in the direct effects of CO2 on plant growth and yield as well as the interactive effects of CO2 with other major climatic variables. This study was conducted to determine the effects and interactions of CO2 concentration and air temperature on the development, growth, total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC), and final seed yield of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr., cv. Bragg] grown season‐long in naturally lit, controlled‐environment chambers. Day/night air temperatures of 26/19, 31/24, and 36/29 °C were maintained in CO2 treatments of 330 and 660 μmol CO2 mol−1 air. Both CO2 enrichment and increasing air temperature decreased main stem plastochron interval, while increasing air temperature increased final main stem node number. Leaf area and above‐ground biomass increased with CO2 enrichment and with temperature from 26/19 °C to 31/24 °C. The nonlinear increase with temperature in leaf area, aboveground biomass, and plastochron interval was attributed to the highest temperature treatment being near or above the optimum for soybean growth and development. Seed yield increased with CO2 enrichment due mainly to an increase in seed number rather than weight per seed. Individual seed weight decreased, while seed number increased with increasing temperature. Leaflet TNC displayed large diurnal variations, while stem TNC was relatively stable throughout the day. Stem TNC was less affected by CO2 than by temperature treatment and decreased with increasing temperature. These results indicate that the response of soybean to elevated CO2 concentration is highly temperature dependent.

The current global rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, [CO2], has stimulated interest in the response of agricultural crops to [CO2]. The objectives were to determine the effects of [CO2] on photosynthesis, evapotranspiration, and water use efficiency of rice (Oryza sativa, L., cv. IR‐30). Rice plants were grown in naturally sunlit, plant growth chambers in subambient (160 and 250), ambient (330), or superambient (500, 660, and 900 μmol CO2 mol−1 air) [CO2] treatments. Photosynthetic light response curves were analyzed to obtain estimates of canopy light utilization efficiency (α) and canopy conductance to CO2 transfer (τ). Estimates of ℵ increased with increasing [CO2] treatment with the greatest increase in the 160 ito 500 μmol mol−1 treatments. Estimates of were more variable tham those for τ and were not different among [CO2] treatments. Photosynthetic rates increased with increasing [CO2] treatment from 160 to 500 μmol mol−1 followed by a leveling off of the response among the superambient [CO2] treatments. Evapotranspiration decreased while water‐use efficiency increased with increasing [CO2]. Shortterm cross‐switching of [CO2] among the chambers revealed a profound adaptive response to long‐term [CO2] growth treatments. Photosynthetic rate, measured at a common [CO2], decreased with increasing long‐term [CO2] growth treatment. The lack of further Photosynthetic response above the 500 μmol mol−1 [CO2] treatment appears to indicate a need to select or screen rice cultivars for increased response to superambient [CO2] in order to more fully take advantage of future increases in global atmospheric [CO2].

Soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Bragg] were grown throughout their life cycle in six controlled‐environment chambers that maintained CO2 concentrations at 330,450,600, and 800 µmol CO2 mol−1 air. Air temperatures were controlled, and solar radiation and dewpoint temperatures were measured continually for each chamber. Net photosynthesis and transpiration were computed on 5‐min intervals. The CO2 enrichment had no apparent effect on the rate of mainstem node development, but leaf area increased at a faster rate proportional to the CO2 concentration. Daytime CO2 exchange rate (CER) increased with increasing CO2 and followed the same trend as final yield. Midday CER was typically about 90 µmol CO2 m−1 of ground area s−1 for 800 µmol mol−1 and 60 µmol CO2 m−2 ground area per second for 330 µmol mol−1 chambers. Canopy transpiration rates, leaf area index and vapor pressure deficits were used to compare bulk canopy resistances among CO2 treatments. Bulk canopy resistance (stomatal and boundary‐layer) of the 800 µmol mol−1 treatment was about 1.6 times that of the 330 µmol mol−1 CO2 treatment. These results imply that the expected continued increase in global atmospheric CO2 will increase both agricultural productivity and water use efficiency.

Elevated carbon dioxide throughout the lifespan of soybean causes an increase in photosynthesis, biomass, and seed yield. A rectangular hyperbola model predicts a 32% increase in soybean seed yield with a doubling of carbon dioxide from 315 to 630 ppm and shows that yields may have increased by 13% from about 1800 A.D. to the present due to global carbon dioxide increases. Several other sets of data indicate that photosynthetic and growth response to rising carbon dioxide of many species, including woody plants, is similar to that of soybean. Calculations suggest that enough carbon could be sequestered annually from increased photosynthesis and biomass production due to the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide from 315 ppm in 1958 to about 345 ppm in 1986 to reduce the impact of deforestation in the tropics on the putative current flux of carbon from the biosphere to the atmosphere.