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McKee Krog posted an update 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Low-cost interventions for adolescent depression and anxiety are needed in low-resource countries such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa.
To assess whether Shamiri, a 4-week layperson-delivered group intervention that teaches growth mindset, gratitude, and value affirmation, can alleviate depression and anxiety symptoms in symptomatic Kenyan adolescents.
This school-based randomized clinical trial included outcomes assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and 2-week and 7-month follow-up from 4 secondary schools in Nairobi and Kiambu County, Kenya. Adolescents aged 13 to 18 years with elevated symptoms on standardized depression or anxiety measures were eligible. Intent-to-treat analyses were used to analyze effects. Recruitment took place in June 2019; follow-up data were collected in August 2019 and February 2020.
Adolescents were randomized to the Shamiri intervention or to a study skills control. All adolescents in both conditions met in groups (mean group size, 9) for 60 minutes per week for 4 weeks.
95% CI, 0.11-0.63]), 2-week follow-up (Cohen d = 0.26 ), and 7-month follow-up (Cohen d = 0.44 ).
Both the Shamiri intervention and a study skills control group reduced depression and anxiety symptoms; the low-cost Shamiri intervention had a greater effect, with effects lasting at least 7 months. If attrition is reduced and the clinical significance of outcome differences is established, this kind of intervention may prove useful in other global settings where there are limited resources, mental illness stigma, or a shortage of professionals and limited access to mental health care.
Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry Identifier PACTR201906525818462.
Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry Identifier PACTR201906525818462.Plant growth is mediated by cell proliferation and expansion. Both processes are controlled by a network of endogenous factors such as phytohormones, reactive oxygen species (ROS), sugars and other signals, which influence gene expression and post translational regulation of proteins. Stress resilience requires rapid and appropriate responses in plant growth and development as well as defence. Regulation of ROS accumulation in different cellular compartments influences growth responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. While ROS are essential for growth, they are also implicated in the stress-induced cessation of growth and in some cases programmed cell death. It is widely accepted that redox post translational modifications of key proteins determine the growth changes and cell fate responses to stress, but the molecular pathways and factors involved remain poorly characterised. Here we discuss ROS as a signalling molecule, the mechanisms of ROS-dependent regulation that influence protein-protein interactions, protein function and turnover, together with the relocation of key proteins to different intracellular compartments in manner that can alter cell fate. Understanding how the redox interactome responds to stress-induced increases in ROS may provide a road map to tailoring the dynamic ROS interactions that determine growth and cell fate in order to enhance stress resilience.Vitis vinifera berries are extremely sensitive to infection by the biotrophic pathogen Erysiphe necator causing powdery mildew disease and deleterious effects on grape and wine quality. The combined analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome associated with this common fungal infection has not been previously carried out in any fruit. In order to identify the molecular, hormonal and metabolic mechanisms associated with infection, healthy and naturally infected Carignan berries were collected at two developmental stages late green (EL33) and early véraison (EL35). RNA sequencing combined with GC-EI/TOF-MS, GC-EI/QUAD-MS and LC-MS/MS analyses revealed that powdery mildew-susceptible grape berries were able to activate defensive mechanisms with the involvement of salicylic acid and jasmonates and to accumulate defense-associated metabolites (e.g. phenylpropanoids, fatty acids). The defensive strategies also indicated organ-specific responses namely the activation of fatty acid biosynthesis. However, defense responses were not enough to restrict fungal growth. The fungal metabolic program during infection involves secretion of effectors related to effector-triggered susceptibility, carbohydrate-active enzymes and activation of sugar, fatty acid and nitrogen uptake and could be under epigenetic regulation. This study also identified potential metabolic biomarkers such as gallic, eicosanoic and docosanoic acids, and resveratrol, that can be used to monitor early stages of infection.Pod shattering, which causes the explosive release of the seeds from the pod, is one of the main sources of yield losses in cowpea in arid and semi-arid areas. Reduction of shattering has therefore been a primary target for selection during the domestication and improvement of cowpea, among other species. Using a mini-core diversity panel of 368 cowpea accessions, four regions with a statistically significant association with pod shattering were identified. Two genes (Vigun03g321100 and Vigun11g100600), involved in cell wall biosynthesis, were identified as strong candidates for pod shattering. Microscopical analysis was conducted on a subset of accessions representing the full spectrum of shattering phenotypes. This analysis indicated that the extent of wall fiber deposition was highly correlated with shattering. The results from this study also confirm that pod shattering in cowpea is exacerbated by arid environmental conditions. Finally, using a subset of West African landraces, patterns of historical selection for shattering resistance related to precipitation in the environment of origin were identified. Together, these results shed light on sources of resistance to pod shattering, which will, in turn, improve climate resilience of a major global nutritional staple.Across the animal kingdom, dopamine plays a crucial role in conferring reinforcement signals that teach animals about the causal structure of the world. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, dopaminergic reinforcement has largely been studied using genetics, whereas pharmacological approaches have received less attention. Here, we apply the dopamine-synthesis inhibitor 3-Iodo-L-tyrosine (3IY), which causes acute systemic inhibition of dopamine signaling, and investigate its effects on Pavlovian conditioning. We find that 3IY feeding impairs sugar-reward learning in larvae while leaving task-relevant behavioral faculties intact, and that additional feeding of a precursor of dopamine (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, L-DOPA), rescues this impairment. Cell Cycle inhibitor Concerning a different developmental stage and for the aversive valence domain. Moreover, we demonstrate that punishment learning by activating the dopaminergic neuron PPL1-γ1pedc in adult flies is also impaired by 3IY feeding, and can likewise be rescued by L-DOPA.
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