Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Comparison Between the Use of Light Therapy and Psychophannacology Therapies

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a major depressive disorder that primarily occurs in the fall and continues until remission in the late spring to early summer. It is considered a major public health problem due to the effects that depression can have on the general population (e.g. inability to work, unable to pay bills, not able to maintain healthy relationships). This disorder affects approximately 0.4 to 2.9% of the general population, primarily those living in the northern latitudes. There have been numerous studies which have looked at the effectiveness of light therapy in the treatment of SAD. Recent studies have also looked at the effectiveness of psychophannacology in treating this disorder as \Veli. Little research has been done on 3 comparing the effectiveness of one treatment over the other. In conducting a literature review of literature written in the past 10 years, light therapy and psychopharmacology were found to be equally effective in the treatment of SAD, although many researchers question these findings due to flaws in study methodology (size of sample, lack of treatment standards) for both treatments. Therefore further research into the effectiveness of light therapy and psychopharmacology for the treatment of SAD is warranted act at this time, patient preference and other considerations should be the deciding factor when dete1mining what the course of treatment should be in the management of SA

Permanent draft genome of 'Rhodopirellula islandica' strain K833.

The planctomycete strain K833 was isolated from cold waters at the coast of Island and is tentatively named 'Rhodopirellula islandica'. It has a lower temperature range for growth than other genome-sequenced Rhodopirellula strains affiliating to Rhodopirellula baltica and 'Rhodopirellula europaea'. The permanent draft genome of strain K833 was obtained as part of a larger study on the biogeography of Rhodopirellula species in European marine waters. The genome consists of 55 contigs with a genome size of 7,433,200 bp. With an average nucleotide identity of 81% to related genomes of R. baltica and 'R. europaea' and more than 4000 common genes, it will be a valuable source for the study of temperature adaptation of planctomycete genomes

Unusual polyphosphate inclusions observed in a marine Beggiatoa strain

Sulfide-oxidizing bacteria of the genus Beggiatoa are known to accumulate phosphate intracellularly as polyphosphate but little is known about the structure and properties of these inclusions. Application of different staining techniques revealed the presence of unusually large polyphosphate inclusions in the marine Beggiatoa strain 35Flor. The inclusions showed a co-occurrence of polyphosphate, calcium and magnesium when analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Similar to polyphosphate-enriched acidocalcisomes of prokaryotes and eukaryotes, the polyphosphate inclusions in Beggiatoa strain 35Flor are enclosed by a lipid layer and store cations. However, they are not notably acidic. 16S rRNA gene sequence-based phylogenetic reconstruction showed an affiliation of Beggiatoa strain 35Flor to a monophyletic branch, comprising other narrow vacuolated and non-vacuolated Beggiatoa species. The polyphosphate inclusions represent a new type of membrane surrounded storage compartment within the genus Beggiatoa, distinct from the mostly nitrate-storing vacuoles known from other marine sulfide-oxidizing bacteria of the family Beggiatoaceae

Optimal Control of Fed-Batch Fermenters

Optimal control of fed-batch fermenters S. Valentinotti† C. Cannizzaro‡ M.Rhiel‡ U. Holmberg† U. von Stockar‡ D. Bonvin† †Institut d’Automatique, EPFL, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland ‡Institut de Genie Chimique, EPFL, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Fermentors are often run in a fed-batch manner to avoid the formation of overflow metabolites. At a high growth rate, the most efficient metabolic pathway(s) of certain microorganisms become saturated resulting in overflow metabolite production. These byproducts are undesirable since their accumulation in the reactor may be inhibitory and the productivity of biomass and growth-associated products is reduced. The ideal way to run such fed-batch fermentation is to grow the cells in the reactor at the critical growth rate, i.e., the point at which overflow metabolite production begins. However, since this value changes from run to run, or even during a given fermentation, its identification is not trivial. A simple way to overcome this difficulty is to maintain a very small, but constant overflow metabolite concentration in the reactor, ensuring that most of the substrate is consumed efficiently. However due to exponential cell growth, standard controllers can maintain a constant concentration only for a limited time period. In this work an adaptive control strategy to maintain a constant overflow metabolite concentration in fed-batch fermentation is presented. The proposed approach requires the knowledge of only two system parameters: the yield coefficient, expressing the relation between overflow metabolite and substrate, and the instantaneous concentration of the overflow metabolite. Baker’s yeast fed-batch experiments were performed with the ob jective of maximizing biomass productivity and minimizing ethanol production. Mid-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure the ethanol concentration that was provided on-line to the controller. The results from numerous experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. The specific growth rate was maintained constant, at a value close to the critical point, until oxygen transfer limitation occurred. Then, the controller automatically reduced the feed rate to prevent excess ethanol production. The biomass increased from 0.5 to 65 grams per liter during the exponential growth phase. Simulation results based on this control strategy show its applicability to other overflow metabolite organisms, such as Escherichia coli

GORAB scaffolds COPI at the trans-Golgi for efficient enzyme recycling and correct protein glycosylation

COPI is a key mediator of protein trafficking within the secretory pathway. COPI is recruited to the membrane primarily through binding to Arf GTPases, upon which it undergoes assembly to form coated transport intermediates responsible for trafficking numerous proteins, including Golgi-resident enzymes. Here, we identify GORAB, the protein mutated in the skin and bone disorder gerodermia osteodysplastica, as a component of the COPI machinery. GORAB forms stable domains at the trans-Golgi that, via interactions with the COPI-binding protein Scyl1, promote COPI recruitment to these domains. Pathogenic GORAB mutations perturb Scyl1 binding or GORAB assembly into domains, indicating the importance of these interactions. Loss of GORAB causes impairment of COPI-mediated retrieval of trans-Golgi enzymes, resulting in a deficit in glycosylation of secretory cargo proteins. Our results therefore identify GORAB as a COPI scaffolding factor, and support the view that defective protein glycosylation is a major disease mechanism in gerodermia osteodysplastica.Peer reviewe

In Silico and Biochemical Analysis of Physcomitrella patens Photosynthetic Antenna: Identification of Subunits which Evolved upon Land Adaptation

Background. In eukaryotes the photosynthetic antenna system is composed of subunits encoded by the light harvesting complex (Lhc) multigene family. These proteins play a key role in photosynthesis and are involved in both light harvesting and photoprotection. The moss Physcomitrella patens is a member of a lineage that diverged from seed plants early after land colonization and therefore by studying this organism, we may gain insight into adaptations to the aerial environment. Principal Findings. In this study, we characterized the antenna protein multigene family in Physcomitrella patens, by sequence analysis as well as biochemical and functional investigations. Sequence identification and analysis showed that some antenna polypeptides, such as Lhcb3 and Lhcb6, are present only in land organisms, suggesting they play a role in adaptation to the sub-aerial environment. Our functional analysis which showed that photo-protective mechanisms in Physcomitrella patens are very similar to those in seed plants fits with this hypothesis. In particular, Physcomitrella patens also activates Non Photochemical Quenching upon illumination, consistent with the detection of an ortholog of the PsbS protein. As a further adaptation to terrestrial conditions, the content of Photosystem I low energy absorbing chlorophylls also increased, as demonstrated by differences in Lhca3 and Lhca4 polypeptide sequences, in vitro reconstitution experiments and low temperature fluorescence spectra. Conclusions. This study highlights the role of Lhc family members in environmental adaptation and allowed proteins associated with mechanisms of stress resistance to be identified within this large family

Optimization of insect cell based protein production processes - online monitoring, expression systems, scale-up

Due to the increasing use of insect cell based expression systems in research and industrial recombinant protein production, the development of efficient and reproducible production processes remains a challenging task. In this context, the application of online monitoring techniques is intended to ensure high and reproducible product qualities already during the early phases of process development. In the following chapter, the most common transient and stable insect cell based expression systems are briefly introduced. Novel applications of insect cell based expression systems for the production of insect derived antimicrobial peptides/proteins (AMPs) are discussed using the example of G. mellonella derived gloverin. Suitable in situ sensor techniques for insect cell culture monitoring in disposable and common bioreactor systems are outlined with respect to optical and capacitive sensor concepts. Since scale-up of production processes is one of the most critical steps in process development, a conclusive overview is given about scale up aspects for industrial insect cell culture processes

Guidelines and Recommendations for Laboratory Analysis in the Diagnosis and Management of Diabetes Mellitus

Background: Multiple laboratory tests are used to diagnose and manage patients with diabetes mellitus. The quality of the scientific evidence supporting the use of these tests varies substantially. Approach: An expert committee compiled evidence-based recommendations for the use of laboratory testing for patients with diabetes. A new system was developed to grade the overall quality of the evidence and the strength of the recommendations. Draft guidelines were posted on the Internet and presented at the 2007 Arnold O. Beckman Conference. The document was modified in response to oral and written comments, and a revised draft was posted in 2010 and again modified in response to written comments. The National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and the Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine Committee of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry jointly reviewed the guidelines, which were accepted after revisions by the Professional Practice Committee and subsequently approved by the Executive Committee of the American Diabetes Association. Content: In addition to long-standing criteria based on measurement of plasma glucose, diabetes can be diagnosed by demonstrating increased blood hemoglobin A$_{1c}$ (HbA$_{1c}$) concentrations. Monitoring of glycemic control is performed by self-monitoring of plasma or blood glucose with meters and by laboratory analysis of HbA$_{1c}$. The potential roles of noninvasive glucose monitoring, genetic testing, and measurement of autoantibodies, urine albumin, insulin, proinsulin, C-peptide, and other analytes are addressed. Summary: The guidelines provide specific recommendations that are based on published data or derived from expert consensus. Several analytes have minimal clinical value at present, and their measurement is not recommended