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Grapevine leafroll-associated virus (GLRaV) infections are accompanied by symptoms with varying severity. Using a dedicated experimental vineyard, we studied the responses to GLRaVs in ripening berries from Cabernet franc grapevines grafted to different rootstocks and with zero, one, or pairs of leafroll infection(s). RNA sequencing data were mapped to a high-quality Cabernet franc genome reference assembled to carry out this study and integrated with hormone and metabolite abundance data. This study identified several molecular levers that participate in responses to GLRaVs, including those that are condition-dependent. This included describing common responses to GLRaVs that were reproduced in two consecutive years, in plants grafted to different rootstocks, and in more than one infection condition. Though different infections were inconsistently distinguishable from one another overall, the effects of infections in plants grafted to different rootstocks were distinct at each developmental stage. Conserved responses included the modulation of pathogen detecting genes, increases in abscisic acid signaling and cytoskeleton remodeling gene expression. The abundance of abscisic acid (ABA), related metabolites, ABA and hormone signaling-related gene expression, and the expression of several transcription factor families differentiated rootstocks overall. These data show that rootstock influences the effect of GLRaVs in ripening berries.

Background: Bipolar disorder is associated with circadian disruption and a high risk of suicidal behavior. In a previous exploratory study of patients with bipolar I disorder, we found that a history of suicide attempts was associated with differences between winter and summer levels of solar insolation. The purpose of this study was to confirm this finding using international data from 42% more collection sites and 25% more countries. Methods: Data analyzed were from 71 prior and new collection sites in 40 countries at a wide range of latitudes. The analysis included 4876 patients with bipolar I disorder, 45% more data than previously analyzed. Of the patients, 1496 (30.7%) had a history of suicide attempt. Solar insolation data, the amount of the sun’s electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, was obtained for each onset location (479 locations in 64 countries). Results: This analysis confirmed the results of the exploratory study with the same best model and slightly better statistical significance. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempts and the ratio of mean winter insolation to mean summer insolation (mean winter insolation/mean summer insolation). This ratio is largest near the equator which has little change in solar insolation over the year, and smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. Other variables in the model associated with an increased risk of suicide attempts were a history of alcohol or substance abuse, female gender, and younger birth cohort. The winter/summer insolation ratio was also replaced with the ratio of minimum mean monthly insolation to the maximum mean monthly insolation to accommodate insolation patterns in the tropics, and nearly identical results were found. All estimated coefficients were significant at p < 0.01. Conclusion: A large change in solar insolation, both between winter and summer and between the minimum and maximum monthly values, may increase the risk of suicide attempts in bipolar I disorder. With frequent circadian rhythm dysfunction and suicidal behavior in bipolar disorder, greater understanding of the optimal roles of daylight and electric lighting in circadian entrainment is needed. © 2021, The Author(s).

In many international studies, rates of completed suicide and suicide attempts have a seasonal pattern that peaks in spring or summer. This exploratory study investigated the association between solar insolation and a history of suicide attempt in patients with bipolar I disorder. Solar insolation is the amount of electromagnetic energy from the Sun striking a surface area on Earth. Data were collected previously from 5536 patients with bipolar I disorder at 50 collection sites in 32 countries at a wide range of latitudes in both hemispheres. Suicide related data were available for 3365 patients from 310 onset locations in 51 countries. 1047 (31.1%) had a history of suicide attempt. There was a significant inverse association between a history of suicide attempt and the ratio of mean winter solar insolation/mean summer solar insolation. This ratio is smallest near the poles where the winter insolation is very small compared to the summer insolation. This ratio is largest near the equator where there is relatively little variation in the insolation over the year. Other variables in the model that were positively associated with suicide attempt were being female, a history of alcohol or substance abuse, and being in a younger birth cohort. Living in a country with a state-sponsored religion decreased the association. (All estimated coefficients p < 0.01). In summary, living in locations with large changes in solar insolation between winter and summer may be associated with increased suicide attempts in patients with bipolar disorder. Further investigation of the impacts of solar insolation on the course of bipolar disorder is needed. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Objective: To confirm prior findings that the larger the maximum monthly increase in solar insolation in springtime, the younger the age of onset of bipolar disorder. Method: Data were collected from 5536 patients at 50 sites in 32 countries on six continents. Onset occurred at 456 locations in 57 countries. Variables included solar insolation, birth-cohort, family history, polarity of first episode and country physician density. Results: There was a significant, inverse association between the maximum monthly increase in solar insolation at the onset location, and the age of onset. This effect was reduced in those without a family history of mood disorders and with a first episode of mania rather than depression. The maximum monthly increase occurred in springtime. The youngest birth-cohort had the youngest age of onset. All prior relationships were confirmed using both the entire sample, and only the youngest birth-cohort (all estimated coefficients P < 0.001). Conclusion: A large increase in springtime solar insolation may impact the onset of bipolar disorder, especially with a family history of mood disorders. Recent societal changes that affect light exposure (LED lighting, mobile devices backlit with LEDs) may influence adaptability to a springtime circadian challenge. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Farmers in focus, interview with a farmer in Cuba.

Although bipolar disorder has high heritability, the onset occurs during several decades of life, suggesting that social and environmental factors may have considerable influence on disease onset. This study examined the association between the age of onset and sunlight at the location of onset.Data were obtained from 2414 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, according to DSM-IV criteria. Data were collected at 24 sites in 13 countries spanning latitudes 6.3 to 63.4 degrees from the equator, including data from both hemispheres. The age of onset and location of onset were obtained retrospectively, from patient records and/or direct interviews. Solar insolation data, or the amount of electromagnetic energy striking the surface of the earth, were obtained from the NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy (SSE) database for each location of onset.The larger the maximum monthly increase in solar insolation at the location of onset, the younger the age of onset (coefficient= -4.724, 95% CI: -8.124 to -1.323, p=0.006), controlling for each country's median age. The maximum monthly increase in solar insolation occurred in springtime. No relationships were found between the age of onset and latitude, yearly total solar insolation, and the maximum monthly decrease in solar insolation. The largest maximum monthly increases in solar insolation occurred in diverse environments, including Norway, arid areas in California, and Chile.The large maximum monthly increase in sunlight in springtime may have an important influence on the onset of bipolar disorder.? 2012 John Wiley and Sons A/S.

Summary Plants still play an overriding role in African traditional medicine, as large sectors of the continent’s population prefer or considerably rely on herbal treatments as their primary source of health care. Traditional medicine, which is defined as the sum of knowledge, skills, and practices used to prevent and treat diseases, often involves consultation with spiritual healers and diviners, who in turn consult supernatural entities to diagnose their patients. At the same time, these traditions and the rites that are related to their practice are categorised as “obscure” and considered unscientific by academia. The overall aim of this thesis was to advance the understanding of the different dimensions of plant use in the context of traditional religions in two western African countries: Benin and Gabon. First, by documenting the use of plants by adepts of Vodoun in Benin and Bwiti in Gabon; and second, by exploring the associated knowledge that sustains these practices. Its purpose was to contribute to an improved plant resource management and, ultimately, the development of culturally appropriate interventions aimed at the conservation of useful plant species and their ecosystems, as well as the improvement of human health in settings similar to those of our countries of study. Departing from the disciplinary perspective of ethnobotany, this work included theories and quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis drawn from botany, anthropology, ethnology, ecology, and pharmacology. Data were collected in a period of more than a year, which was divided in two fieldwork stays, each in Benin and Gabon. This thesis was organised into six chapters. In Chapter One, I laid out the conceptual framework and introduced the study sites. Based on an assessment of the relevance of this study, I framed its overall objective and research questions. Medicinal plants are not only acknowledged for their importance in satisfying the health needs of people in sub-Saharan Africa, but also for the role their commercialization plays as a source of income for vulnerable groups. In spite of this recognition, little is known about the implications of medicinal plant trade for the sustainability of the plant species involved, especially when data on the volume and diversity of species sold at the markets are not available. In Chapter Two, we addressed this gap by providing an estimation of the volume and economic value of the domestic market in herbal medicine in Benin. We also highlighted local health concerns reflected by the medicinal plant market and found that ritual plants were the largest use category for which vendors catered in the markets of Benin. Additionally, we suggested some species with possible sustainability issues. In Chapter Three, we explored the potential link between two different social mechanisms that regulate the use of plant resources (taboos and sacrifices) and the scarcity of ritual plants in Benin and Gabon. The scholarly discussion around the origin and necessity of taboos has found these to exist either as a means to avoid potential diseases or to control the use of natural resources. Moreover, empirical data has shown that taboos reflect resource abundance. These studies, however, have primarily focussed on the use of wild animals as food. By providing quantitative data based on questionnaires with local informants, we found evidence that restrictions (such as taboos and sacrifices) were an indication of resource scarcity of ritual plants, thus advancing new explanations to the existence of these social mechanisms. In Chapter Four, we revised two of the notions that are central to our study: ‘religion’ and ‘traditional religion’, this time as defined by the people who profess these faiths in Benin and Gabon. Plant use in the context of traditional religions has been commonly described from an outsider’s perspective. The same is true for religion and traditional religions. In this chapter, we learnt that plants played a central role in the religious traditions of Benin and Gabon, both for adepts and non-adepts of Vodoun and Bwiti. In Western science, the effects of ritual plants on human health have been proposed to be a matter of belief. In Chapter Five, we discussed the potential pharmacological effect of culturally salient and economically important ritual plants on their users. We did that by contrasting their mode of application to proven pharmacological properties gathered from the literature. Additionally, we described folk categories of illness related to supernatural agents (e.g. evil spirits, ancestors, and sorcerers), as well as diseases recognised by biomedicine but that are attributed supernatural causes by people in Benin and Gabon. We discovered that in both countries an important proportion of the ritual applications of plants suggest a pharmacological effect on their users. Finally, in Chapter Six, I addressed the research questions formulated in Chapter One and discussed our work’s methodological issues as well as its implications to other scientific disciplines. I also highlighted the possible applications of the research results in informing nature conservation and human development interventions, as well as some possibilities for future research. Moreover, I reached five conclusions about Bwiti and Vodoun in our countries of study: (1) Plants and other elements of the natural world play a central role in the religious traditions of Benin and Gabon, both for adepts and non-adepts of these traditions. (2) Social mechanisms such as taboos and sacrifices are a form of adaptive management of plant resources that respond to perceived scarcity of ritual plants by their users. (3) Ritual applications of plants used in our countries of study suggest a pharmacological effect on their users, as opposed to the previous assumption that their effectiveness is a matter of belief. (4) By being the backbone of the medinal plant trade in Benin and Gabon, ritual plants represent an important source of income for a substancial sector of the population of these two countries. (5) The Western notion of ‘ritual’ in the context of western African plant use is an important mechanism for the preservation and transmission of ecological, historical, and medicinal knowledge. These conclusions point to the need to question the assumptions upon which the study of plant use in the western African context has been typically approached. Finally, I concluded that as long as the exercise of agency by supernatural entities is acknowledged, considering these practices as ‘religious’ is justified from an etic perspective.

Purpose: Two common approaches to identify subgroups of patients with bipolar disorder are clustering methodology (mixture analysis) based on the age of onset, and a birth cohort analysis. This study investigates if a birth cohort effect will influence the results of clustering on the age of onset, using a large, international database. Methods: The database includes 4037 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, previously collected at 36 collection sites in 23 countries. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to adjust the data for country median age, and in some models, birth cohort. Model-based clustering (mixture analysis) was then performed on the age of onset data using the residuals. Clinical variables in subgroups were compared. Results: There was a strong birth cohort effect. Without adjusting for the birth cohort, three subgroups were found by clustering. After adjusting for the birth cohort or when considering only those born after 1959, two subgroups were found. With results of either two or three subgroups, the youngest subgroup was more likely to have a family history of mood disorders and a first episode with depressed polarity. However, without adjusting for birth cohort (three subgroups), family history and polarity of the first episode could not be distinguished between the middle and oldest subgroups. Conclusion: These results using international data confirm prior findings using single country data, that there are subgroups of bipolar I disorder based on the age of onset, and that there is a birth cohort effect. Including the birth cohort adjustment altered the number and characteristics of subgroups detected when clustering by age of onset. Further investigation is needed to determine if combining both approaches will identify subgroups that are more useful for research. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.