Mitochondrial myopathy and comorbid major depressive disorder. effectiveness of dTMS on gait and mood symptoms

Background: Mitochondrial myopathies (MMs) often present with leukoencephalopathy and psychiatric symptoms, which do not respond to or worsen with psychiatric drugs. Case report: A 67-year-old woman with a 10-year history of probable chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, an MM, had drug-resistant, anxious-depressive symptoms. Since she had never had seizures, we proposed 20 sessions of deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) for her depression. Surprisingly, besides the expected improvement of depression, we observed marked improvement of movement disorder that lasted as long as the patient was undergoing dTMS. She also improved her performance on neuropsychological tests of executive function and cognitive speed. Depressive symptom improvement was persistent, while anxiety symptoms recurred after the end of the sessions. Conclusions: dTMSmay be an alternative antidepressant strategy in patients withMMs, provided that they are free from seizures. The mechanism of improvement of motor disturbance may relate to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex stimulation and improved executive function and needs further investigation

Selección de genotipos por comportamiento forrajero a partir de una progenie F2 de stylosanthes guianensis (fabaceae)

Stylosanthes guianensis (Aubl.) Sw. es una especie autógama de gran importancia forrajera en el norte de Argentina, ya que estudios previos han mostrado que se adapta bien a diferentes tipos de suelos y ambientes, siendo poco exigente en requerimientos de fósforo, además, tienen buen valor nutritivo comparado con otras especies tropicales. En Corrientes se han evaluado algunos de los cultivares comerciales, observándose una buena producción media durante 4 años. Sin embargo, la producción en período frío disminuye o se produce la muerte de las plantas debido a las bajas temperaturas. Sería de gran interés incorporar a Stylosanthes guianensis a un programa de mejoramiento genético. Con la finalidad de obtener genotipos que produjeran durante todo el año, sean tolerantes a las heladas y con mayor vigor. Con respecto a este punto, la cátedra de Forrajicultura de FCA UNNE cuenta con germoplasma de cuatro cultivares de S. guianensis (Endavour, Cook, CIAT 184 y Graham), los cuales fueron cultivados y caracterizados previamente. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue identificar y seleccionar genotipos deseables a partir de progenies segregantes (F2), provenientes de la hibridación de cultivares comerciales de Stylosanthes guianensis. Para ello se dispuso de un total de 390 plantas a campo, distribuidas en un diseño en bloques completos al azar con 3 repeticiones. Se realizaron mediciones relativas a la producción primaria, altura de plantas y diámetro, susceptibilidad a las enfermedades, tolerancia al frío y producción de semillas, como así también a observaciones del hábito de crecimiento y porte de la planta. Los resultados permiten identificar genotipos altamente favorables desde el punto de vista de la tolerancia al frío principalmente, logrando sobrevivir al invierno un total de 15 genotipos F2, pertenecientes a 8 familias, pero además 16 genotipos de padres o variedades comerciales. Lo cual daría un indicio de la factibilidad de la técnica de mejoramiento empleadaFil: Winter, Jonatan D.. Universidad Nacional del NordesteFil: Acuña, Carlos A.. Universidad Nacional del NordesteFil: Brugnoli, Elsa A.. Universidad Nacional del Nordest

Carbon allocation and carbon isotope fluxes in the plant-soil-atmosphere continuum: a review

The terrestrial carbon (C) cycle has received increasing interest over the past few decades, however, there is still a lack of understanding of the fate of newly assimilated C allocated within plants and to the soil, stored within ecosystems and lost to the atmosphere. Stable carbon isotope studies can give novel insights into these issues. In this review we provide an overview of an emerging picture of plant-soil-atmosphere C fluxes, as based on C isotope studies, and identify processes determining related C isotope signatures. The first part of the review focuses on isotopic fractionation processes within plants during and after photosynthesis. The second major part elaborates on plant-internal and plant-rhizosphere C allocation patterns at different time scales (diel, seasonal, interannual), including the speed of C transfer and time lags in the coupling of assimilation and respiration, as well as the magnitude and controls of plant-soil C allocation and respiratory fluxes. Plant responses to changing environmental conditions, the functional relationship between the physiological and phenological status of plants and C transfer, and interactions between C, water and nutrient dynamics are discussed. The role of the C counterflow from the rhizosphere to the aboveground parts of the plants, e.g. via CO<sub>2</sub> dissolved in the xylem water or as xylem-transported sugars, is highlighted. The third part is centered around belowground C turnover, focusing especially on above- and belowground litter inputs, soil organic matter formation and turnover, production and loss of dissolved organic C, soil respiration and CO<sub>2</sub> fixation by soil microbes. Furthermore, plant controls on microbial communities and activity via exudates and litter production as well as microbial community effects on C mineralization are reviewed. A further part of the paper is dedicated to physical interactions between soil CO<sub>2</sub> and the soil matrix, such as CO<sub>2</sub> diffusion and dissolution processes within the soil profile. Finally, we highlight state-of-the-art stable isotope methodologies and their latest developments. From the presented evidence we conclude that there exists a tight coupling of physical, chemical and biological processes involved in C cycling and C isotope fluxes in the plant-soil-atmosphere system. Generally, research using information from C isotopes allows an integrated view of the different processes involved. However, complex interactions among the range of processes complicate or currently impede the interpretation of isotopic signals in CO<sub>2</sub> or organic compounds at the plant and ecosystem level. This review tries to identify present knowledge gaps in correctly interpreting carbon stable isotope signals in the plant-soil-atmosphere system and how future research approaches could contribute to closing these gaps

EFFECTIVENESS OF SWITCHING FROM ORAL ZIPRASIDONE TO RISPERIDONE IN A PATIENT WITH COMORBID AUTISTIC DISORDER, PROFOUND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, GILBERT SYNDROME, AND EXACERBATION OF PSYCHOSIS

Autism and intellectual disability may hinder any other coexisting psychiatric diagnosis. Diagnoses are often based on behavioral observations, directly ob- tained or reported by family members or operators in frequent contact with the patient, and non-verbal communications, as well as on the psychological and physical symptoms manifested by the patient. We describe the case of a 28-year-old Italian man, hospitalized in one of our long-term care wards for comorbid profound intellectual disability (IQ<25), autistic and psychotic disorders, and Gilbert syndrome, who manifested a severe exacerbation of psychosis, for which ziprasidone was prescribed. This condition para- doxically further deteriorated after the introduction of this drug. A subsequent switch to risperidone greatly and rapidly improved both psychosis-related and symp- toms emerging after the introduction of ziprasidone

Efficacy of antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia: results after 24 months in Italian patients in the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (SOHO) study Efficacia della terapia antipsicotica per la schizofrenia: risultati a 24 mesi dello studio SOHO

Summary Objectives Aim of the present study was to examine the outcomes associated with antipsychotic treatment over a 24-month timeframe for Italian patients taking part in the Schizophrenia Outpatient Health Outcomes (SOHO) study. Methods SOHO is a prospective Results A large number of patients (2,533) continued treatment for 24 months with the antipsychotic started at baseline. The CGI-overall score improved from baseline after continuous treatment for 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in all treatment groups (Fig. 2). Compared with olanzapine, there was significantly less improvement in the CGI-overall score for the other antipsychotic groups, except clozapine. Likewise, quality of life improved in all treatment groups in all epochs, and there was a significantly greater improvement in EQ-VAS with olanzapine compared with risperidone and oral typicals (Fig. 3) . Social functioning also improved in all treatment groups, but more patients had social activities in the olanzapine group than in the clozapine group (after 6, 12 and 18 months continuous treatment) or typical antipsychotic groups (oral typical: after 6 and 12 months; depot typical: after 6 months continuous treatment) (Tab. V). Olanzapine, clozapine and quetiapine were associated with less EPS after treatment in all four epochs (Tab. VI). Olanzapine and clozapine were associated with higher average weight gain Conclusion

Species-specific adaptations explain resilience of herbaceous understorey to increased precipitation variability in a Mediterranean oak woodland

To date, the implications of the predicted greater intra-annual variability and extremes in precipitation on ecosystem functioning have received little attention. This study presents results on leaf-level physiological responses of five species covering the functional groups grasses, forbs, and legumes in the understorey of a Mediterranean oak woodland, with increasing precipitation variability, without altering total annual precipitation inputs. Although extending the dry period between precipitation events from 3 to 6 weeks led to increased soil moisture deficit, overall treatment effects on photosynthetic performance were not observed in the studied species. This resilience to prolonged water stress was explained by different physiological and morphological strategies to withstand periods below the wilting point, that is, isohydric behavior in Agrostis, Rumex, and Tuberaria, leaf succulence in Rumex, and taproots in Tolpis. In addition, quick recovery upon irrigation events and species-specific adaptations of water-use efficiency with longer dry periods and larger precipitation events contributed to the observed resilience in productivity of the annual plant community. Although none of the species exhibited a change in cover with increasing precipitation variability, leaf physiology of the legume Ornithopus exhibited signs of sensitivity to moisture deficit, which may have implications for the agricultural practice of seeding legume-rich mixtures in Mediterranean grassland-type systems. This highlights the need for long-term precipitation manipulation experiments to capture possible directional changes in species composition and seed bank development, which can subsequently affect ecosystem state and functioninginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Carbon allocation and carbon isotope fluxes in the plant-soil-atmosphere continuum: A review

The terrestrial carbon (C) cycle has received increasing interest over the past few decades, however, there is still a lack of understanding of the fate of newly assimilated C allocated within plants and to the soil, stored within ecosystems and lost to the atmosphere. Stable carbon isotope studies can give novel insights into these issues. In this review we provide an overview of an emerging picture of plant-soil-atmosphere C fluxes, as based on C isotope studies, and identify processes determining related C isotope signatures. The first part of the review focuses on isotopic fractionation processes within plants during and after photosynthesis. The second major part elaborates on plant-internal and plant-rhizosphere C allocation patterns at different time scales (diel, seasonal, interannual), including the speed of C transfer and time lags in the coupling of assimilation and respiration, as well as the magnitude and controls of plant-soil C allocation and respiratory fluxes. Plant responses to changing environmental conditions, the functional relationship between the physiological and phenological status of plants and C transfer, and interactions between C, water and nutrient dynamics are discussed. The role of the C counterflow from the rhizosphere to the aboveground parts of the plants, e.g. via CO2 dissolved in the xylem water or as xylem-transported sugars, is highlighted. The third part is centered around belowground C turnover, focusing especially on above- and belowground litter inputs, soil organic matter formation and turnover, production and loss of dissolved organic C, soil respiration and CO2 fixation by soil microbes. Furthermore, plant controls on microbial communities and activity via exudates and litter production as well as microbial community effects on C mineralization are reviewed. A further part of the paper is dedicated to physical interactions between soil CO2 and the soil matrix, such as CO2 diffusion and dissolution processes within the soil profile. Finally, we highlight state-of-the-art stable isotope methodologies and their latest developments. From the presented evidence we conclude that there exists a tight coupling of physical, chemical and biological processes involved in C cycling and C isotope fluxes in the plant-soil-atmosphere system. Generally, research using information from C isotopes allows an integrated view of the different processes involved. However, complex interactions among the range of processes complicate or currently impede the interpretation of isotopic signals in CO2 or organic compounds at the plant and ecosystem level. This review tries to identify present knowledge gaps in correctly interpreting carbon stable isotope signals in the plant-soil-atmosphere system and how future research approaches could contribute to closing these gaps

Does long-term warming affect C and N allocation in a Mediterranean shrubland ecosystem? Evidence from a¹³C and¹⁵N labeling field study

© 2017 In the Mediterranean basin the effects of climate warming on ecosystem functioning will strongly depend on the warming intensity directly but also on its effects on evapotranspiration and nutrient cycling. Climate manipulation experiments under field conditions are a source of unique empirical evidence regarding climate-related modifications of biotic processes. A field night-time warming experiment, simulating the predicted near-future increase in ambient temperatures (+0.3 up to 1 °C), was established in a Mediterranean shrub community located in Porto Conte (Italy) in 2001. After 11 years of continuous treatment, we labeled the dominant shrub Cistus monspeliensis with 13 CO 2 and studied the dynamics of the label allocation between aboveground and belowground pools and fluxes in warmed and ambient plots within 2 weeks of the chasing period. The interactions between C and N metabolism were assessed by parallel labeling of soil with K 15 NO 3. Most of the assimilated 13 C was respired by Cistus shoots (28–51%) within two weeks. Cistus under warming respired more 13 C label and tended to allocate less 13 C to leaves, branches and roots. The higher C and N content in microbial biomass in warming plots, combined with the higher N content in plant tissues and soil, evidenced a greater N mobilization in soil and a better nutrient status of the plants as compared to the ambient treatment. Acceleration of N cycling is probably responsible for higher respiratory C losses, but combined with the reduction in the number of frost days, should also positively affect plant photosynthetic performance. We conclude that, although Cistus plants are already growing in conditions close to their thermal optimum, long-term warming will positively affect the performance of this species, mainly by reducing the nutrient constraints. This positive effect will highly depend on the frequency and amount of rain events and their interactions with soil N content

PON1 polymorphisms can predict generalized anxiety and depressed mood in patients with multiple chemical sensitivity

Background: Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is a chronic condition with somatic, cognitive and affective symptoms that follow contact with chemical agents at usually non toxic concentrations. We aimed to assess the role of genetic polymorphisms involved in oxidative stress on anxiety and depression in MCS. Materials & methods: Our study investigated the CAT rs1001179, MPO rs2333227, PON1 rs662 and PON1 rs705379 polymorphisms in MCS. Results: The AG genotype of the PON1 rs662 and the TT and CT genotypes of the PON1 rs705379 were involved in anxiety and depression. Discussion: These results are in line with existing evidence of PON1 involvement in MCS and suggest a further role of this gene in the exhibition of anxiety and depression in this disease