Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae

Comparison between REBT and Visual/Kinaesthetic Dissociation in the Treatment of Panic Disorder: An Empirical Study

The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of two brief treatment methods for panic disorder: Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) and Visual/Kinaesthetic Dissociation (VKD), neither of which have been the object of scientific enquiry. The study is a two-way between-groups pre-test/post-test experimental design with baseline and follow-up measures. An innovative four-session treatment protocol was developed for each treatment method. Eighteen participants in North-East Surrey, England, who responded to media advertisements for cognitive-behavioural treatment for panic disorder and who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia were randomly assigned to either REBT or VKD. Pre-test/post-test changes in panic were measured using the ACQ, PASQ, and HADS scales and a global panic rating measure. At post-test there was a statistically significant improvement on all measures for both groups, which was maintained at one-month follow-up. Taking into consideration limitations such as the small sample size and a short follow-up period, implications of this study and recommendations for future research are discussed

Group mindfulness based cognitive therapy vs group support for self-injury among young people: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a transdiagnostic behaviour that can be difficult to treat; to date no evidence based treatment for NSSI exists. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) specifically targets the mechanisms thought to initiate and maintain NSSI, and thus appears a viable treatment option. The aims of the current study are to test the ability of MBCT to reduce the frequency and medical severity of NSSI, and explore the mechanisms by which MBCT exerts its effect. Methods/Design: We will conduct a parallel group randomised controlled trial of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) versus Supportive Therapy (ST) in young people aged 18-25 years. Computerised block randomisation will be used to allocate participants to groups. All participants will meet the proposed DSM-5 criteria for NSSI (i.e. five episodes in the last twelve months). Participants will be excluded if they: 1) are currently receiving psychological treatment, 2) have attempted suicide in the previous 12 months, 3) exhibit acute psychosis, 4) have a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, or 5) have prior experience of MBCT. Our primary outcome is the frequency and medical severity of NSSI. As secondary outcomes we will assess changes in rumination, mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, stress, and attentional bias, and test these as mechanisms of change. Discussion: This is the first randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of MBCT in reducing NSSI. Evidence of the efficacy of MBCT for self-injury will allow provision of a brief intervention for self-injury that can be implemented as a stand-alone treatment or integrated with existing treatments for psychiatric disorders

Screening for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among Somali ex-combatants: A validation study

In Somalia, a large number of active and former combatants are affected by psychological problems such as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), that impairs their ability to re-integrate into civilian life. This study reports on development and validation of a screening tool for PTSD in Somali language with a sample of ex-combatants.Waxaa Soomaaliya ka jira tiro badan oo askartii hore ah oo dhimirka wax ka gaaray, sida cudurka la yiraahdo "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)", kaaso isbeddel ku sameeyo qofka dad ladhaqankiisa. Darasaadkanina wuxuu horumarinayaa qalabka baaritaanka caafimaadka cudurka DPTS oo loo adeegsanayo Af-soomaaliga.In Somalia, un gran numero di soldati o ex-soldati sono affetti da problemi psicologici come il Disturbo Post-Traumatico da Stress (DPTS), che altera la capacità di re-integrarsi nella vita civile. Questo studio riporta sullo sviluppo di uno strumento di screening per il DPTS in lingua somala

Multiomics in the central Arctic Ocean for benchmarking biodiversity change.

Multiomics approaches need to be applied in the central Arctic Ocean to benchmark biodiversity change and to identify novel species and their genes. As part of MOSAiC, EcoOmics will therefore be essential for conservation and sustainable bioprospecting in one of the least explored ecosystems on Earth

Dengue Virus Targets the Adaptor Protein MITA to Subvert Host Innate Immunity

Dengue is one of the most important arboviral diseases caused by infection of four serotypes of dengue virus (DEN). We found that activation of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) triggered by viral infection and by foreign DNA and RNA stimulation was blocked by DEN-encoded NS2B3 through a protease-dependent mechanism. The key adaptor protein in type I interferon pathway, human mediator of IRF3 activation (MITA) but not the murine homologue MPYS, was cleaved in cells infected with DEN-1 or DEN-2 and with expression of the enzymatically active protease NS2B3. The cleavage site of MITA was mapped to LRR↓96G and the function of MITA was suppressed by dengue protease. DEN replication was reduced with overexpression of MPYS but not with MITA, while DEN replication was enhanced by MPYS knockdown, indicating an antiviral role of MITA/MPYS against DEN infection. The involvement of MITA in DEN-triggered innate immune response was evidenced by reduction of IRF3 activation and IFN induction in cells with MITA knockdown upon DEN-2 infection. NS2B3 physically interacted with MITA, and the interaction and cleavage of MITA could be further enhanced by poly(dA:dT) stimulation. Thus, we identified MITA as a novel host target of DEN protease and provide the molecular mechanism of how DEN subverts the host innate immunity

Curation of viral genomes: challenges, applications and the way forward

BACKGROUND: Whole genome sequence data is a step towards generating the 'parts list' of life to understand the underlying principles of Biocomplexity. Genome sequencing initiatives of human and model organisms are targeted efforts towards understanding principles of evolution with an application envisaged to improve human health. These efforts culminated in the development of dedicated resources. Whereas a large number of viral genomes have been sequenced by groups or individuals with an interest to study antigenic variation amongst strains and species. These independent efforts enabled viruses to attain the status of 'best-represented taxa' with the highest number of genomes. However, due to lack of concerted efforts, viral genomic sequences merely remained as entries in the public repositories until recently. RESULTS: VirGen is a curated resource of viral genomes and their analyses. Since its first release, it has grown both in terms of coverage of viral families and development of new modules for annotation and analysis. The current release (2.0) includes data for twenty-five families with broad host range as against eight in the first release. The taxonomic description of viruses in VirGen is in accordance with the ICTV nomenclature. A well-characterised strain is identified as a 'representative entry' for every viral species. This non-redundant dataset is used for subsequent annotation and analyses using sequenced-based Bioinformatics approaches. VirGen archives precomputed data on genome and proteome comparisons. A new data module that provides structures of viral proteins available in PDB has been incorporated recently. One of the unique features of VirGen is predicted conformational and sequential epitopes of known antigenic proteins using in-house developed algorithms, a step towards reverse vaccinology. CONCLUSION: Structured organization of genomic data facilitates use of data mining tools, which provides opportunities for knowledge discovery. One of the approaches to achieve this goal is to carry out functional annotations using comparative genomics. VirGen, a comprehensive viral genome resource that serves as an annotation and analysis pipeline has been developed for the curation of public domain viral genome data . Various steps in the curation and annotation of the genomic data and applications of the value-added derived data are substantiated with case studies