Mediaboss Marketing

Burhans MS, Hagman DK, Kuzma JN, Schmidt KA, Kratz M. Contribution of adipose tissue inflammation to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Compr Physiol. 2019;9:158.

Google Scholar

Zatterale F, Longo M, Naderi J, Raciti GA, Desiderio A, Miele C, et al. Chronic Adipose Tissue Inflammation Linking Obesity to Insulin Resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. Front Physiol. 2020;10:1607.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Furman D, Campisi J, Verdin E, Carrera-Bastos P, Targ S, Franceschi C, et al. Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nat Med. 2019;25:182232.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Fasano A. Gut permeability, obesity, and metabolic disorders: Who is the chicken and who is the egg? Am J Clin Nutr. 2017;105:34.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Piya MK, Harte AL, McTernan PG. Metabolic endotoxaemia: Is it more than just a gut feeling? Curr Opin Lipidol. 2013;24:7885.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Varma MC, Kusminski CM, Azharian S, Gilardini L, Kumar S, Invitti C, et al. Metabolic endotoxaemia in childhood obesity. BMC Obes. 2016;3:1-8.

Creely SJ, McTernan PG, Kusminski CM, Fisher FM, da Silva NF, Khanolkar M, et al. Lipopolysaccharide activates an innate immune system response in human adipose tissue in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2007;292:E7407.

Harte AL, da Silva NF, Creely SJ, McGee KC, Billyard T, Youssef-Elabd EM, et al. Elevated endotoxin levels in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Inflamm. 2010;7:1-10.

Harte AL, Varma MC, Tripathi G, McGee KC, Al-Daghri NM, Al-Attas OS, et al. High fat intake leads to acute postprandial exposure to circulating endotoxin in type 2 diabetic subjects. Diabetes Care. 2012;35:37582.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Martinez de la Escalera L, Kyrou I, Vrbikova J, Hainer V, Sramkova P, Fried M, et al. Impact of gut hormone FGF-19 on type-2 diabetes and mitochondrial recovery in a prospective study of obese diabetic women undergoing bariatric surgery. BMC Med. 2017;15:1-9.

Bowser SM, Mcmillan RP, Boutagy NE, Tarpey MD, Smithson AT, Osterberg KL, et al. Serum endotoxin, gut permeability and skeletal muscle metabolic adaptations following a short term high fat diet in humans. Metabolism. 2020;103:154041.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Nascimento EBM, Sparks LM, Divoux A, van Gisbergen MW, Broeders EPM, Jrgensen JA, et al. Genetic Markers of Brown Adipose Tissue Identity and In Vitro Brown Adipose Tissue Activity in Humans. Obesity. 2018;26:13540.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Al-Amrani A, AbdelKarim M, AlZabin M, Alzoghaibi M. Low expression of brown and beige fat genes in subcutaneous tissues in obese patients. Arch Med Sci. 2019;15:111322.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Pellegrinelli V, Carobbio S, Vidal-Puig A. Adipose tissue plasticity: how fat depots respond differently to pathophysiological cues. Diabetologia. 2016;59:107588.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Orava J, Nuutila P, Noponen T, Parkkola R, Viljanen T, Enerbck S, et al. Blunted metabolic responses to cold and insulin stimulation in brown adipose tissue of obese humans. Obesity. 2013;21:227987.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Chait A, den Hartigh LJ. Adipose Tissue Distribution, Inflammation and Its Metabolic Consequences, Including Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2020;7:22.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Bond LM, Ntambi JM. UCP1 deficiency increases adipose tissue monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis and trafficking to the liver. J Lipid Res. 2018;59:22436.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Matsushita M, Yoneshiro T, Aita S, Kameya T, Sugie H, Saito M. Impact of brown adipose tissue on body fatness and glucose metabolism in healthy humans. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014;38:8127.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Koksharova E, Ustyuzhanin D, Philippov Y, Mayorov A, Shestakova M, Shariya M, et al. The Relationship Between Brown Adipose Tissue Content in Supraclavicular Fat Depots and Insulin Sensitivity in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Prediabetes. Diabetes Technol Ther. 2017;19:96102.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Chondronikola M, Volpi E, Brsheim E, Porter C, Annamalai P, Enerbck S, et al. Brown adipose tissue improves whole-body glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in humans. Diabetes. 2014;63:408999.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Leitner BP, Huang S, Brychta RJ, Duckworth CJ, Baskin AS, McGehee S, et al. Mapping of human brown adipose tissue in lean and obese young men. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017;114:864954.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Vijgen GHEJ, Bouvy ND, Teule GJJ, Brans B, Schrauwen P, van Marken Lichtenbelt WD. Brown adipose tissue in morbidly obese subjects. PLoS One. 2011;6:e17247.

Dadson P, Hannukainen JC, Din MU, Lahesmaa M, Kalliokoski KK, Iozzo P, et al. Brown adipose tissue lipid metabolism in morbid obesity: Effect of bariatric surgery-induced weight loss. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2018;20:12808.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Vijgen GHEJ, Bouvy ND, Teule GJJ, Brans B, Hoeks J, Schrauwen P, et al. Increase in Brown Adipose Tissue Activity after Weight Loss in Morbidly Obese Subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012;97:E122933.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Hankir MK, Seyfried F. Do Bariatric Surgeries Enhance Brown/Beige Adipose Tissue Thermogenesis? Front Endocrinol. 2020;11:275.

Article Google Scholar

Adami GF, Carbone F, Montecucco F, Camerini G, Cordera R. Adipose Tissue Composition in Obesity and After Bariatric Surgery. Obes Surg. 2019;29:30308.

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Chen Y, Yang J, Nie X, Song Z, Gu Y. Effects of Bariatric Surgery on Change of Brown Adipocyte Tissue and Energy Metabolism in Obese Mice. Obes Surg. 2018;28:82030.

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Okla M, Wang W, Kang I, Pashaj A, Carr T, Chung S. Activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) attenuates adaptive thermogenesis via endoplasmic reticulum stress. J Biol Chem. 2015;290:2647690.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Gavald-Navarro A, Moreno-Navarrete JM, Quesada-Lpez T, Cair M, Giralt M, Fernndez-Real JM, et al. Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein is a negative regulator of adipose tissue browning in mice and humans. Diabetologia. 2016;59:220818.

Article PubMed Google Scholar

Mahdaviani K, Benador IY, Su S, Gharakhanian RA, Stiles L, Trudeau KM, et al. Mfn2 deletion in brown adipose tissue protects from insulin resistance and impairs thermogenesis. EMBO Rep. 2017;18:112338.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Tilokani L, Nagashima S, Paupe V, Prudent J. Mitochondrial dynamics: Overview of molecular mechanisms. Essays Biochem. 2018;62:34160.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Jornayvaz FR, Shulman GI. Regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis. Essays Biochem. 2010;47:6984.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Ferree A, Shirihai O. Mitochondrial dynamics: The intersection of form and function. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012;748:1340.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Pearce SF, Rebelo-Guiomar P, DSouza AR, Powell CA, Van Haute L, Minczuk M. Regulation of Mammalian Mitochondrial Gene Expression: Recent Advances. Trends Biochem Sci. 2017;42:62539.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Matthews DR, Hosker JP, Rudenski AS, Naylor BA, Treacher DF, Turner RC. Homeostasis model assessment: insulin resistance and -cell function from fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in man. Diabetologia. 1985;28:4129.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Friedewald WT, Levy RI, Fredrickson DS. Estimation of the Concentration of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Plasma, Without Use of the Preparative Ultracentrifuge. Clin Chem. 1972;18:499502.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

McTernan PG, Anwar A, Eggo MC, Barnett AH, Stewart PM, Kumar S. Gender differences in the regulation of P450 aromatase expression and activity in human adipose tissue. Int J Obes. 2000;24:87581.

Article CAS Google Scholar

Kusminski CM, Da Silva NF, Creely SJ, Fisher FM, Harte AL, Baker AR, et al. The in vitro effects of resistin on the innate immune signaling pathway in isolated human subcutaneous adipocytes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007;92:2706.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Schindelin J, Arganda-Carreras I, Frise E, Kaynig V, Longair M, Pietzsch T, et al. Fiji: an open-source platform for biological-image analysis. Nat Methods. 2012;9:67682.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Jackisch L, Murphy AM, Kumar S, Randeva H, Tripathi G, McTernan PG. Tunicamycin-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Mediates Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Human Adipocytes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020;105:290518.

Article Google Scholar

Tong DL, Boocock DJ, Dhondalay GKR, Lemetre C, Ball GR. Artificial Neural Network Inference (ANNI): A Study on Gene-Gene Interaction for Biomarkers in Childhood Sarcomas. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e102483.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Shannon P, Markiel A, Ozier O, Baliga NS, Wang JT, Ramage D, et al. Cytoscape: a software environment for integrated models of biomolecular interaction networks. Genome Res. 2003;13:2498504.

Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

IBM Corp. Released 2012. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 21.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp; 2012.

Google Scholar

Yeo CR, Agrawal M, Hoon S, Shabbir A, Shrivastava MK, Huang S, et al. SGBS cells as a model of human adipocyte browning: A comprehensive comparative study with primary human white subcutaneous adipocytes. Sci Rep. 2017;7:4031.

Article PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

Pisani DF, Barquissau V, Chambard JC, Beuzelin D, Ghandour RA, Giroud M, et al. Mitochondrial fission is associated with UCP1 activity in human brite/beige adipocytes. Mol Metab. 2018;7:3544.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Villarroya F, Cereijo R, Gavald-Navarro A, Villarroya J, Giralt M. Inflammation of brown/beige adipose tissues in obesity and metabolic disease. J Intern Med. 2018;284:492504.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Cui X-B, Chen S-Y. White adipose tissue browning and obesity. 2017. https://doi.org/10.7555/JBR.31.20160101.

Beiroa D, Imbernon M, Gallego R, Senra A, Herranz D, Villarroya F, et al. GLP-1 agonism stimulates brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and browning through hypothalamic AMPK. Diabetes. 2014;63:334658.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Cero C, Lea HJ, Zhu KY, Shamsi F, Tseng Y-H, Cypess AM. 3-Adrenergic receptors regulate human brown/beige adipocyte lipolysis and thermogenesis. JCI Insight. 2021;6:e139160.

Melby CL, Paris HL, Foright RM, Peth J. Attenuating the Biologic Drive for Weight Regain Following Weight Loss: Must What Goes Down Always Go Back Up? Nutrients. 2017;9.

Bae J, Ricciardi CJ, Esposito D, Komarnytsky S, Hu P, Curry BJ, et al. Activation of pattern recognition receptors in brown adipocytes induces inflammation and suppresses uncoupling protein 1 expression and mitochondrial respiration. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2014;306:C91830.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

Nhr MK, Bobba N, Richelsen B, Lund S, Pedersen SB. Inflammation downregulates UCP1 expression in brown adipocytes potentially via SIRT1 and DBC1 interaction. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18.

Okla M, Zaher W, Alfayez M, Chung S. Inhibitory Effects of Toll-Like Receptor 4, NLRP3 Inflammasome, and Interleukin-1 on White Adipocyte Browning. Inflammation. 2018;41:62642.

Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar

van Marken Lichtenbelt WD, Schrauwen P. Implications of nonshivering thermogenesis for energy balance regulation in humans. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2011;301:R28596.

Wikstrom JD, Mahdaviani K, Liesa M, Sereda SB, Si Y, Las G, et al. Hormone-induced mitochondrial fission is utilized by brown adipocytes as an amplification pathway for energy expenditure. EMBO J. 2014;33:41836.

CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

View post:
The impact of metabolic endotoxaemia on the browning process in ... - BMC Medicine

2023 is the fifth consecutive time SymphonyAI Summit has been recognized as a Customers' Choice

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SymphonyAI Summit, a SymphonyAI division, announced today that it has been named a Customers' Choice in the 2023 Gartner Peer Insights Voice of the Customer for IT Service Management Platforms.

SymphonyAI Summit has been named a Customers' Choice for five years. In 2023, 60% of the total customer reviewers gave SymphonyAI Summit 5 out of 5 stars. The vendors recognized as a Customers' Choice meet or exceed both the market average Overall Experience and the market average User Interest and Adoption. Access a copy of the full report here.

SymphonyAI Summit's AI-enabled enterprise workflow software unifies service management, asset management, an AI-powered virtual agent, and operations management into a single, easy-to-use, enterprise-grade platform for service requests across an organization. Through AI-driven intelligence and workflow automation, SymphonyAI Summit's tools are designed to understand the context of an issue and automatically resolve incidents or service requests.

"Delivering value to our enterprise customers is our number one priority, and we believe being recognized as a Gartner Customers' Choice for the fifth time in a row underscores that commitment," said Satyen Vyas, CEO of SymphonyAI Summit. "The market is hungry for an excellent enterprise-grade, easy-to-use, cost-effective service management and enterprise workflow automation offering. We believe SymphonyAI Summit is meeting that need with our AI-enabled platform that helps organizations simplify work, drive productivity, and please users. Ultimately, the customers' experience of our product and service excellence is what truly matters."

Gartner Peer Insights is a free peer review and ratings platform and ratings platform designed for enterprise software and services decision makers. Reviews are organized by products in markets that are defined by Gartner Research in Magic Quadrant and Market Guide documents. The "Voice of the Customer" is a document that synthesizes Gartner Peer Insights' reviews into insights for IT decision makers. This aggregated peer perspective, along with the individual detailed reviews, is complementary to Gartner expert research and can play a key role in your buying process, as it focuses on direct peer experiences of implementing and operating a solution. In this document, only vendors with 20 or more eligible published reviews (and 15 or more ratings for "Capabilities" and "Support/Delivery") during the specified 18-month submission period are included. Reviews from vendor partners or end users of companies with less than $50M in revenue are excluded from this methodology.

Please click here to access a full copy of the Gartner Voice of the Customer for IT Service Management Platforms.

About Gartner Peer Insights

Gartner Peer Insights is a public platform that offers verified, first-hand reviews of enterprise software and services from experienced IT professionals.

*Ratings and reviews based on 208 total reviews as of 31 January 2023 in the IT Service Management Platforms market.

Attribution - Gartner, Voice of the Customer for IT Service Management Platforms, Peer Contributors, 24 March 2023.

Disclaimer- GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark, and PEER INSIGHTS is a trademark and service mark, of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences with the vendors listed on the platform, should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About SymphonyAI Summit

SymphonyAI Summit, a SymphonyAI division, provides a unifiedAI-enabled service, asset, and operations management platform. Enterprises use SymphonyAI Summit to dramatically reduce IT management cost and complexity while improving efficiency, productivity, predictability, and control. Leading enterprises across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and many more verticals are delivering exceptional user experiences while lowering IT costs using SymphonyAI Summit.

About SymphonyAI

SymphonyAI is building the leading enterprise AI SaaS company for digital transformation across the most critical and resilient growth verticals, including retail, consumer packaged goods, finance, manufacturing, media, and IT/enterprise service management. SymphonyAI verticals have many leading enterprises as clients. Since its founding in 2017, SymphonyAI has grown rapidly to 3,000 talented leaders, data scientists, and other professionals. SymphonyAI is a SAIGroup company, backed by a$1 billioncommitment from successful entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr.Romesh Wadhwani. Learn more atwww.symphonyai.com.

PR Contact Nicole Katzin, [emailprotected]

SOURCE SymphonyAI

Go here to see the original:
SymphonyAI Summit Rated 4.5 of 5 Stars* in Gartner Peer Insights ... - PR Newswire

Published: 10:00 am, 18 April 2023

The BBC has announced that Waterloo Road will return to BBC One and iPlayer this May, for a new series consisting of seven episodes. Alongside some familiar faces, the school will welcome back Jamie Glover as the much-loved character of Andrew Treneman, last seen in the series in 2009.

The ex-deputy head, English teacher, and former flame of Kim Campbell will return to Waterloo Road, but is Mr. Treneman back to help a struggling Kim take control of the school, or is he back to stir things up?

The popular drama series returned in January after an eight-year hiatus following a revival in audiences on BBC iPlayer during the first lockdown. The series remains especially popular with younger viewers, and is the BBCs second biggest drama title with 16-34 year olds of the year so far, behind only Happy Valley.

Known for its hard hitting storylines and relatable characters, the show reflects modern society with its portrayal of issues including the cost of living crisis, teen homelessness, racism, sexism, being LGBTQ+, mental health, and everything else facing young teens today. But amongst the chaos, the students, faculty and parents still make time for friendships, fun, and a few romances.

Returning for another term will be Angela Griffin (Kim Campbell), Adam Thomas (Donte Charles), Kym Marsh (Nicky Walters), Vincent Jerome (Lindon King), James Baxter (Joe Casey), Jo Coffey (Wendy Whitwell), Shauna Shim (Valerie Chambers), Neil Fitzmaurice (Neil Guthrie), Rachel Leskovac (Coral Walker), Katherine Pearce (Amy Spratt), Ryan Clayton (Mike Rutherford) and Sonia Ibrahim (Jamilah Omar).

Also joining the cast this series will be Paul Bazely (Benidorm, Black Mirror, Cruella, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Jenny Platt (Coronation Street, The Bay) as parents of pupils, whilst Olwen May (Coronation Street, Happy Valley, Emmerdale) and James Quinn (Early Doors, Coronation Street) are set to make an appearance at the school.

New student Myles Massey played by Osian Morgan joins established pupils including Adam Abbou (Danny Lewis), Priyasasha Kumari (Samia Choudhry), Noah Valentine (Preston Walters), Adam Ali (Kai Sharif), Alicia Forde (Kelly-Jo Rafferty), Francesco Piacentini-Smith (Dean Weever), Liam Scholes (Noel McManus) and Lucy Eleanor Begg (Caz Williams).

Scarlett Thomas plays Izzy Charles and fellow junior student casting includes Summer Violet Bird (Tonya Walters), Ava Flannery (Verity King), Thapelo Ray (Dwanye Jackson), Inathi Rozani (Zayne Jackson), Chiamaka (ChiChi) Ulebor (Shola Aku) and Sahil Ismailkhil (Norrulah Ashimi).

Angela Griffinsays: Its great to be back on BBC One and to be able to offer iPlayer fans some great new episodes. We have such a wonderful and talented cast, all of whom bring so much to Waterloo Road. This series holds a fair few surprises for Kim and everyone around her and I cant wait for people to catch up with all the action inside and outside the school.

Jamie Gloversays: I am so excited to be returning to Waterloo Road. The school has been such an important part of my life and its wonderful to be able to rekindle the old flame. Not to mention the joy of getting to work with the incomparable Angela Griffin once more. I hope that people will enjoy seeing Andrew and Kim together in the school again. Older? Certainly, theres the grey hair to prove it! Wiser? Who knows?

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Dramasays:We are thrilled that Waterloo Road is returning following its successful run earlier this year. To have Jamie Glover reprise his role as Andrew Treneman alongside our fantastic returning and new cast members is a real treat and we cant wait to share more stories from the school.

Fans of the show will be able to get all the behind the scenes information fromWaterloo Road The Official Podcastwhich will also be returning with hosts Adam Thomas and Priyasasha Kumari. Coming soon to BBC Sounds, the podcast will feature celebrity guests and the Waterloo Road cast as they look back at the shows legacy and take audiences on a nostalgic journey through the years. The show will countdown to the return of the new series and is the perfect listen for fans who have been with the show since it started.

Waterloo Road is a Rope Ladder Fiction and Wall to Wall North co-production for BBC One and iPlayer. The executive producers are Cameron Roach for Rope Ladder Fiction, Leanne Klein for Wall to Wall and Gaynor Holmes and Jo McClellan for the BBC.

AJ

Continued here:
BBC confirms the return of Waterloo Road for another term - BBC

A 29-year-old man has died after he 'lost control' of his motorbike and hit a brick gate post.

The smash happened on Rutland Road in Tyldesley, a residential street, at around 10.50pm last night (Tuesday). Police and paramedics were called to the scene.

The man was riding a motorbike when he 'lost control' and hit a brick gate post at a house, police said. He tragically died on the scene.

READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community

His family are now being supported by specialist officers. Police are now urging any witnesses, or anyone with information about the incident, to come forward.

In a statement, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: "At around 10.50pm last night (Tuesday 18 April 2023), Greater Manchester Police were called to reports of a road traffic collision on Rutland Road, Tyldesley. It is believed that a motorcyclist lost control of their vehicle before colliding with a brick gate post of a residential address.

"Despite the best efforts of emergency services, the rider, a 29-year-old man, sadly died at the scene. The family of the rider are being supported by specialist officers.

"Officers are now appealing for witnesses - or anyone with dashcam, doorbell or CCTV footage - to please get in touch. You can do so by calling GMP's Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741 quoting incident 4149 of 18/04/2023.

"A report can also be made via GMP's website: http://www.gmp.police.uk Alternatively, call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."

Read more of today's top stories here

READ NEXT:

Originally posted here:
Man, 29, dies after 'losing control' of motorbike and hitting brick post - Manchester Evening News

Last Saturday many of us opened our eyes, realised that he was gone, and felt a little flat.

There were one or two slightly churlish articles in the Irish press about our American visitor. And lets not get started on the sour grapes in elements of the British media. Yet, the truth is that the majority of us, young and old, rural, and urban, threw our lot in behind Joe Bidens visit.

We werent necessarily politically engaging with Biden, rather we were offering a welcome to somebody who palpably appreciated it. Everyone was in good spirits and we had uncomplicated, warm-hearted fun.

It seems likely that our enthusiasm went beyond Bidens merits as a fundamentally decent human being (particularly when compared to his predecessor), or to an attachment to the Irish American diaspora.

Could it be related to the fact that good news stories have felt in markedly short supply?

Sometimes focusing on the headlines can provoke the feeling that the human race is in terminal decline.

One existential crisis after another appears to loom on the horizon, viruses, war, eroding relations between world powers, and the accompanying spectre of nuclear war, artificial intelligence said to rip us apart, and climatic apocalypse.

According to a report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism 2023, 70% of news publishers worry about the growing trend of stark or selective news avoidance on the part of audiences for whom the news tanks their mood. Apparently watching nightly death bulletins during the pandemic has dampened our appetite for unwelcome news.

There's good news after all

Of course, its debatable that headlines always give the comprehensive story. The news cycle tends to deal with the day-to-day, eliding long-term positive patterns.

So, not wishing to paint a Panglossian view, and accepting that as we navigate a complex reality that is often beyond our control there are no forgone conclusions, here is some positive news.

Last Wednesday the Irish Examiner led with a mood-boosting article reporting that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Irelands economy will power ahead in 2023 and 2024. Irish GDP will grow by 5.6% this year and then expand by 4% in 2024.

The IMF also sees inflationary pressures easing across major economies over the next two years. True, it has warned the flare-up of the banking market turmoil in recent weeks could jeopardize the recovery of the global economy.

Core inflation surrounding food prices is worrying, and it was reported on Monday that a drop in diesel demand worldwide may indicate future recession risk so were not out of the woods yet. However late last year reports predicted a prolonged recession, so well take it.

It was reported in March that Irish unemployment dropped to a new post-crash low of 4.3% causing chief economist for Grant Thornton Andrew Webb to comment, The unemployment numbers provide yet more encouragement that the economy is weathering the challenges presented by inflation and doesnt appear impacted by the tech jobs slowdown.

Two weeks ago, the Government released figures that say as of 31 March, 15,282 Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled in Irish schools since the Russian invasion. The enrolment rate among Ukrainian children aged 5-18 in Ireland is estimated to be running at about 90%.

According to a recent Unicef report, about 66% of displaced Ukrainian children are not enrolled in host countries education systems. So, we owe a debt of gratitude to our teachers. As Hubert Loftus, an assistant secretary general at the Department of Education commented, its a great achievement for the school system.

Sticking with inclusivity and integration, Irelands far-right has failed to get a proper foothold. Yes, recently there have been some bumps in the road, but there is scant evidence of anti-immigrant sentiment in our Government.

The same cannot be said of many European countries including Poland, Austria, Italy, Hungary, and Sweden, where over the last decade the right has surged ahead. The ascension of the right has largely been attributed to the fallout from the vicious global recession crisis of 2008. Ireland took a major austerity bath which should have made our country fertile ground for extremists, but it didnt happen.

According to the Central Statistics Offices (CSO) annual progress report released five days ago, male life expectancy at birth in Ireland at 80.8 years was the highest in the EU for 2020, while female life expectancy at birth for Irish women was 84.4 years, which was 1.2 years above the EU average.

Positive climate moves

The latest figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new electric vehicle registrations in Ireland have risen 49% in 2023. Our greenhouse gas emissions are per capita the second highest in the EU after Luxembourg so this is a positive trend.

Lets have less of the balloon has gone up talk and more restricting technological developments that result in increased greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. The more we reflect on the progress we have made, the more action we can take.

And there is some excellent news on that front. At the beginning of April, it emerged that UCC and Columbia University have developed a new method to improve climate policy.

Their research will improve the accuracy of estimating future demands for passenger and freight transport that collectively account for 20 % of global greenhouse emissions. Given that the forecasted global population and economic growth will lead to increased demand for transport services, major kudos to Siddarth Joshi at UCC who led this research as part of his PhD in energy engineering.

Another upbeat bulletin is that recently the Government has committed to spending 290m on walking and cycling infrastructure in 2023.

It was reported last month that Ireland has been ranked as the 14th happiest country in the world according to the World Happiness Report for 2023. We slipped one place from 2022, but its good going by any metric.

The index measures life evaluations in terms of six variables which include GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption.

Trump is in trouble. Okay, Donaald Trump still has a lock on the Republican party and looks likely to win the Republican nomination.

Yet, in the last fortnight, it has been widely reported how the shenanigans surrounding his hush money trial have reminded independent voters in the USA of his toxic brand of extreme politics.

Around 40 % of American voters describe themselves as independent, with around two-thirds of independents estimated to be against Trump becoming president. They represent a crucial cohort in the outcome of the next American presidential election.

Its uncertain if Biden will definitely run again but the headline seems to be that many Independents who dislike Trumps angry partisanship would vote for Peppa Pig if the alternative was Trump. So, fingers crossed because many of us psychologically just couldnt take another four years of Trump.

Last week was a much-needed blast. And maybe the mood music is a little lighter than we think. Have a good day folks.

Read the original post:
Sarah Harte: Today's mood music may be more optimistic than you'd ... - Irish Examiner