Diabetes mellitus and co-morbid depression: treatment with milnacipran results in significant improvement of both diseases (results from the Austrian MDDM study group)

Co-morbid depression is common in patients with diabetes mellitus and has a negative impact on diabetes self-care, adherence to treatment and the development of complications. Effective treatment of depression has been associated with improvement in metabolic parameters. We evaluated the feasibility of a two question screen for co-morbid depression in diabetic patients and studied the effect of the serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor antidepressant, milnacipran, on metabolic and psychological parameters in 64 type 2 diabetic patients with co-morbid depression. The severity of depression was evaluated using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Patients received milnacipran, and diabetes was treated according to the guidelines of the Austrian Diabetes Association in a 6-month open label study. Metabolic parameters and BDI were measured at baseline and after 1, 3 and 6 months. 46 patients satisfied the criteria for an antidepressant response (reduction of baseline BDI score of at least 50%). Hemoglobin A1c, fasting blood glucose, body mass index, total and LDL-cholesterol and serum triglyceride levels were all significantly decreased in these patients at the end of the study whereas in antidepressant non-responders these parameters were not significantly changed. Diagnosis and treatment of depression is an important factor for the improvement of metabolic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and co-morbid depression

GIDEP Batching Tool

This software provides internal, automated search mechanics of GIDEP (Government- Industry Data Exchange Program) Alert data imported from the GIDEP government Web site. The batching tool allows the import of a single parts list in tab-delimited text format into the local JPL GIDEP database. Delimiters from every part number are removed. The original part numbers with delimiters are compared, as well as the newly generated list without the delimiters. The two lists run against the GIDEP imports, and output any matches. This feature only works with Netscape 2.0 or greater, or Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater. The user selects the browser button to choose a text file to import. When the submit button is pressed, this script will import alerts from the text file into the local JPL GIDEP database. This batch tool provides complete in-house control over exported material and data for automated batch match abilities. The batching tool has the ability to match capabilities of the parts list to tables, and yields results that aid further research and analysis. This provides more control over GIDEP information for metrics and reports information not provided by the government site. This software yields results quickly and gives more control over external data from the government site in order to generate other reports not available from the external source. There is enough space to store years of data. The program relates to risk identification and management with regard to projects and GIDEP alert information encompassing flight parts for space exploration

Multiple Recombination Events Drive the Current Genetic Structure of Xanthomonas perforans in Florida

Prior to the identification of Xanthomonas perforans associated with bacterial spot of tomato in 1991, X. euvesicatoria was the only known species in Florida. Currently, X. perforans is the Xanthomonas sp. associated with tomato in Florida. Changes in pathogenic race and sequence alleles over time signify shifts in the dominant X. perforans genotype in Florida. We previously reported recombination of X. perforans strains with closely related Xanthomonas species as a potential driving factor for X. perforans evolution. However, the extent of recombination across the X. perforans genomes was unknown. We used a core genome multilocus sequence analysis approach to identify conserved genes and evaluated recombination-associated evolution of these genes in X. perforans. A total of 1,356 genes were determined to be “core” genes conserved among the 58 X. perforans genomes used in the study. Our approach identified three genetic groups of X. perforans in Florida based on the principal component analysis (PCA) using core genes. Nucleotide variation in 241 genes defined these groups, that are referred as Phylogenetic-group Defining (PgD) genes. Furthermore, alleles of many of these PgD genes showed 100% sequence identity with X. euvesicatoria, suggesting that variation likely has been introduced by recombination at multiple locations throughout the bacterial chromosome. Site-specific recombinase genes along with plasmid mobilization and phage associated genes were observed at different frequencies in the three phylogenetic groups and were associated with clusters of recombinant genes. Our analysis of core genes revealed the extent, source, and mechanisms of recombination events that shaped the current population and genomic structure of X. perforans in Florida

Managing Bacterial Spot of Tomato: Do Chemical Controls Pay Off?

Bacterial spot of tomato (BST) is a disease that severely afflicts tomato crops, especially in geographic areas such as the Southeastern U.S., where the environmental conditions favor rapid disease development. Farmers usually use chemical treatments such as copper–mancozeb mixtures and acibenzolar-S-methyl, among other methods, to manage BST. However, these chemical treatments generally fail to improve marketable yields, thus raising the question of whether the BST treatments are economical. We evaluated the efficacy and profitability of bactericide treatments consisting of copper-mancozeb, acibenzolar-S-methyl, and streptomycin, as well as three inoculation levels of Xanthomonas euvesicatoria pv. perforans, on the management of BST in Florida. Across three separate field trials, BST severity was inversely correlated with marketable tomato yields; however, bactericide treatments provided no statistical improvement in marketable yields. By accounting for yield and the BST treatment costs, our profitability analysis showed that the BST treatments did not pay off economically; the net returns of these treatments were statistically equivalent to the untreated controls

Insights into the Transcriptional Reprogramming in Tomato Response to PSTVd Variants Using Network Approaches

Viroids are the smallest pathogens of angiosperms, consisting of non-coding RNAs that cause severe diseases in agronomic crops. Symptoms associated with viroid infection are linked to developmental alterations due to genetic regulation. To understand the global mechanisms of host viroid response, we implemented network approaches to identify master transcription regulators and their differentially expressed targets in tomato infected with mild and severe variants of PSTVd. Our approach integrates root and leaf transcriptomic data, gene regulatory network analysis, and identification of affected biological processes. Our results reveal that specific bHLH, MYB, and ERF transcription factors regulate genes involved in molecular mechanisms underlying critical signaling pathways. Functional enrichment of regulons shows that bHLH-MTRs are linked to metabolism and plant defense, while MYB-MTRs are involved in signaling and hormone-related processes. Strikingly, a member of the bHLH-TF family has a specific potential role as a microprotein involved in the post-translational regulation of hormone signaling events. We found that ERF-MTRs are characteristic of severe symptoms, while ZNF-TF, tf3a-TF, BZIP-TFs, and NAC-TF act as unique MTRs. Altogether, our results lay a foundation for further research on the PSTVd and host genome interaction, providing evidence for identifying potential key genes that influence symptom development in tomato plants

Accelerating the Renewable Energy Revolution to Get Back to the Holocene

Abstract The UN's Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming between 1.5 and 2°C is dangerously obsolete and needs to be replaced by a commitment to restore Earth's climate. We now know that continued use of fossil fuels associated with 1.5–2°C scenarios would result in hundreds of millions of pollution deaths and likely trigger multiple tipping elements in the Earth system. Unexpected advances in renewable power production and storage have radically expanded our climate response capacity. The cost of renewable technologies has plummeted at least 30‐year faster than projected, and renewables now dominate energy investment and growth. This renewable revolution creates an opportunity and responsibility to raise our climate ambitions. Rather than aiming for climate mitigation—making things less bad—we should commit to climate restoration—a rapid return to Holocene‐like climate conditions where we know humanity and life on Earth can thrive. Based on observed and projected energy system trends, we estimate that the global economy could reach zero emissions by 2040 and potentially return atmospheric CO2 to pre‐industrial levels by 2100–2150. However, this would require an intense and sustained rollout of renewable energy and negative emissions technologies on very large scales. We describe these clean electrification scenarios and outline technical and socioeconomic strategies that would increase the likelihood of restoring a Holocene‐like climate in the next 100 years. We invite researchers, policymakers, regulators, educators, and citizens in all countries to share and promote this positive message of climate restoration for human wellbeing and planetary stability

The Islamic Republican Party of Iran in the Factory: Control over Workers’ Discourse in Posters (1979–1987)

This article discusses how May Day posters, released by the Islamic Republican Party of Iran (which represented the core of Ayatollah Khomeini’s supporters in terms of state power between 1979 and 1987), started to express a new socially constructed identity for workers within the factory. By tracking hidden meanings and the particular use of visual language, it investigates why various styles and symbols were woven together. Finally, it shows – through the analysis of discourse in posters – how a process of appropriation of leftist symbols developed, in order to nullify a perceived ideological threat to the Islamic Republic, represented by both secular Marxists groups and those who, in Khomeini’s words, “mixed Islamic ideas with Marxist ideas and have created a concoction which is in no way in accordance with the progressive teachings of Islam” [Khomeini, Ayatollah Ruhollah. “We Shall Confront the World with Our Ideology.” MERIP Reports (1980). Middle Eastern Studie