Triose phosphate export from chloroplasts and cellular sugar content regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis during high light acclimation.

Plants have evolved multiple strategies to cope with rapid changes in the environment. During high light (HL) acclimation, the biosynthesis of photoprotective flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, is induced. However, the exact nature of the signal and downstream factors for HL induction of flavonoid biosynthesis (FB) is still under debate. Here, we show that carbon fixation in chloroplasts, subsequent export of photosynthates by triose phosphate/phosphate translocator (TPT), and rapid increase in cellular sugar content permit the transcriptional and metabolic activation of anthocyanin biosynthesis during HL acclimation. In combination with genetic and physiological analysis, targeted and whole-transcriptome gene expression studies suggest that reactive oxygen species and phytohormones play only a minor role in rapid HL induction of the anthocyanin branch of FB. In addition to transcripts of FB, sugar-responsive genes showed delayed repression or induction in tpt-2 during HL treatment, and a significant overlap with transcripts regulated by SNF1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) was observed, including a central transcription factor of FB. Analysis of mutants with increased and repressed SnRK1 activity suggests that sugar-induced inactivation of SnRK1 is required for HL-mediated activation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. Our study emphasizes the central role of chloroplasts as sensors for environmental changes as well as the vital function of sugar signaling in plant acclimation.

Establishment and optimization of a new model organism to study early land plant evolution: Germination, cultivation and oospore variation of Chara braunii Gmelin, 1826.

For studying land plant evolution, the establishment and optimization of model organisms representing streptophytic algae, sister to land plants, is essential. Long-term cultivation experiments with Chara braunii S276 were performed over 8 years, since 4 years (Nov. 2018) under constant conditions. Additionally, short-term experiments for optimization of culture conditions were performed with three strains of C. braunii (S276, NIES-1604 and Lausiger Teiche, LaT-2708). Germination success after application of sterilization agents, addition of gibberellic acid and under different incubation conditions with respect to pre-treatment, irradiance regime and substrate was investigated in order to develop protocols for generative cultivation of at least unialgal cultures. The resulting cultivation protocols for C. braunii S276, allowing maintenance of vegetative as well as generative cultures are presented in detail, including protocols for germination induction and growth of sterilized and unsterilized oospores.

The contribution of parent and youth information to identify mental health disorders or problems in adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Discrepancies between multiple informants often create considerable uncertainties in delivering services to youth. The present study assessed the ability of the parent and youth scales of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to predict mental health problems/disorders across several mental health domains as validated against two contrasting indices of validity for psychopathology derived from the Development and Well Being Assessment (DAWBA): (1) an empirically derived computer algorithm and (2) expert based ICD-10 diagnoses. METHODS: Ordinal and logistic regressions were used to predict any problems/disorders, emotional problems/disorders and behavioural problems/disorders in a community sample (n = 252) and in a clinic sample (n = 95). RESULTS: The findings were strikingly similar in both samples. Parent and youth SDQ scales were related to any problem/disorder. Youth SDQ symptom and impact had the strongest association with emotional problems/disorder and parent SDQ symptom score were most strongly related to behavioural problems/disorders. Both the SDQ total and the impact scores significantly predicted emotional problems/disorders in males whereas this was the case only for the total SDQ score in females. CONCLUSION: The present study confirms and expands previous findings on parent and youth informant validity. Clinicians should include both parent and youth for identifying any mental health problems/disorders, youth information for detecting emotional problems/disorders, and parent information to detect behavioural problems/disorders. Not only symptom scores but also impact measures may be useful to detect emotional problems/disorders, particularly in male youth.

Effective Mental Health Screening in Adolescents: Should We Collect Data from Youth, Parents or Both?

Youth- and parent-rated screening measures derived from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) were compared on their psychometric properties as predictors of caseness in adolescence (mean age 14). Successful screening was judged firstly against the likelihood of having an ICD-10 psychiatric diagnosis and secondly by the ability to discriminate between community (N = 252) and clinical (N = 86) samples (sample status). Both, SDQ and DAWBA measures adequately predicted the presence of an ICD-10 disorder as well as sample status. The hypothesis that there was an informant gradient was confirmed: youth self-reports were less discriminating than parent reports, whereas combined parent and youth reports were more discriminating-a finding replicated across a diversity of measures. When practical constraints only permit screening for caseness using either a parent or an adolescent informant, parents are the better source of information.

[Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Acceptance of a New Ambulatory Care System]. / Kinder- und jugendpsychiatrische Versorgung: Akzeptanz eines neuen ambulanten Versorgungsmodells.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a new ambulatory care system in outpatient child and adolescent psychiatry based on the web-based Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA). METHODS: We analyzed patient paths (flows), acceptance, satisfaction, and staff costs in the newly implemented care model. RESULTS: The new model was very well accepted by the respondents (DAWBA response rate: 92 %). A third of the patients registered with the psychiatric service in 2012 were not in need of psychiatric treatment and were therefore referred to other psycho-social services. The additional staff costs of $ 200 per case might be low compared to the saved costs due to the avoidance of inappropriate medical care. CONCLUSION: The new ambulatory care model proved to be effective, efficient and broadly accepted when resources are strictly limited.

The use of the development and well-being assessment (DAWBA) in clinical practice: a randomized trial.

The development and well-being assessment (DAWBA) has been used in various epidemiological studies, whereas the clinical value of the instrument needs support from further studies. In particular, it is important to document how the use of the DAWBA influences clinical decision-making. The present study employed the DAWBA in a consecutive series of 270 new referrals to a large public child and adolescent psychiatric service in Zurich, Switzerland. ICD-10 based diagnoses were obtained from clinicians for all patients and reliability of DAWBA expert raters was calculated. The DAWBA diagnoses were randomly disclosed (n = 144) or not disclosed (n = 126) before clinical decision-making. The reliability of DAWBA expert diagnoses was very satisfactory and the agreement under the disclosed versus the non-disclosed condition amounted to 77 versus 68% for internalizing disorders and to 63 versus 71% for externalizing disorders. The increment in agreement due to disclosure of the DAWBA diagnosis was significant for internalizing disorders. Access to DAWBA information was more likely to prompt clinicians to add an extra diagnosis. Professional background and degree of clinical experience did not affect diagnostic agreement. Overall, diagnostic agreements between DAWBA expert diagnoses and clinical diagnoses were in the fair to moderate range and comparable to previous studies with other structured diagnostic interviews. The inclusion of the DAWBA into the clinical assessment process had an impact on diagnostic decision-making regarding internalizing disorders but not regarding externalizing disorders.