Heart rate variability and the relationship between trauma exposure age, and psychopathology in a post-conflict setting

BACKGROUND: Cumulative exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) increases risk for mental distress in conflict-affected settings, but the psychophysiological mechanisms that mediate this dose-response relationship are unknown. We investigated diminished heart rate variability (HRV) - an index of vagus nerve function and a robust predictor of emotion regulation capacity - as a vulnerability marker that potentially mediates the association between PTE exposure, age and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychological distress and aggressive behavior, in a community sample from Timor-Leste - a post-conflict country with a history of mass violence. METHOD: Resting state heart rate data was recorded from 45 cases of PTSD, depression and intermittent explosive disorder (IED); and 29 non-case controls. RESULTS: Resting HRV was significantly reduced in the combined case group compared with non-cases (p = .021; Cohen's d = 0.5). A significant mediation effect was also observed, whereby a sequence of increased age, reduced HRV and elevated PTSD symptoms mediated the association between PTE exposure and distress (B = .06, SE = .05, 95% CI = [.00-.217]) and aggression (B = .02, SE = .02, 95% CI = [.0003-.069])). CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate an association between diminished resting HRV and psychopathology. Moreover, age-related HRV reductions emerged as a potential psychophysiological mechanism that underlies enhanced vulnerability to distress and aggression following cumulative PTE exposure

Nomenclatural and taxonomic notes on Sesleria sect. Argenteae (Poaceae)

In this paper we typify and discuss 14 species and infraspecies names belonging to Sesleria sect. Argenteae (Poaceae). Lectotypes are designated for the names S. alba, S. anatolica, S. anatolica var. rossica, S. anatolica var. voronovii, S. doerfleri, S. gigantea, S. latifolia, S. latifolia var. serpentinica, S. pontica, S. robusta, S. sillingeri, S. vaginalis and S. wettsteinii. A neotype is designated for the name S. nitida. Previous typifications and holotypes for other names in S. sect. Argenteae are summarized

Long neglected diversity in the Accursed Mountains (western Balkan Peninsula): Ranunculus bertisceus is a genetically and morphologically divergent new species

Southern European mountain ranges have long been recognized as important hotspots of genetic diversity and areas of high endemism. Reflecting the geographical complexity of these mountain ranges, many European high-mountain species exhibit disjunctions on a variety of geographical scales. One of the long-neglected, poorly investigated and unresolved taxonomic problems concerns Apennine and Balkan members of Ranunculus section Leucoranunculus. According to the most recent taxonomic treatment, this section includes Ranunculus crenatus, distributed predominantly in siliceous massifs of the Carpathians and the Balkan Peninsula, but with a highly disjunct partial distribution area in the eastern Alps, and Ranunculus magellensis, which is usually considered a calcicolous endemic of the central Apennines. However, R. magellensis has also been suggested to occur in the carbonate ranges of the Albanian Alps, which would render this species amphi-Adriatic. We used complementary molecular methods (sequences of the nuclear ribosomal ITS region and of plastid DNA and amplified fragment length polymorphisms), relative genome size measurements and morphometric analyses to elucidate the relationships in Ranunculus section Leucoranunculus. Specifically, we asked if it comprises only a single, widespread and morphologically variable species or several narrowly distributed species with constant morphology. The results of our study showed that populations growing on limestone in the Albanian Alps in northern Albania and southern Montenegro are divergent and should be recognized as a new species, Ranunculus bertisceus Kuzmanović, D.Lakušić, Frajman & Schönsw., sp. nov. These populations differ not only from R. crenatus s.s., which grows on silicates, but also from the calcicolous Apennine endemic R. magellensis. The eastern Alpine populations of R. crenatus, which occur very locally in the Niedere Tauern area, originate from immigration from the Bosnian mountains

Nomenclatural and taxonomic notes on some names of Sesleria sect. Argenteae (Poaceae) from Italy and the Balkans

Several names belonging to the Sesleria sect. Argenteae (Poaceae) were discussed in this paper and, where necessary, typified. Lectotypes were designated for the names Sesleria nitida var. brevidentata, S. nitida var. intermedia, S. nitida var. tenoreana f. macrostachya, and S. nitida var. tenoreana f. visianii. Neotypes were designated for the names Sesleria nitida var. tenoreana s.s. and S. nitida var. de-gasperiana. Synonyms were proposed for the following names (accepted names in brackets): S. feretrana (= S. italica), S. italica subsp. mariculensis (= S. italica), S. nitida var. brevidentata (= S. vaginalis), S. nitida var. candae (= S. italica), S. nitida var. intermedia (= S. robusta), S. nitida var. tenoreana f. visianii (= S. italica), and S. nitida var. tenoreana f. macrostachya (= S. italica). As regards Sesleria nitida var. de-gasperiana and S. nitida var. sancti-marinii, they were confirmed as synonyms of S. pichiana. Due to the extremely limited number of herbarium specimens available, we could not confirm the taxonomic autonomy of S. nitida var. pulchella (basionym of the taxon currently accepted as S. pulchella) and consider it as a preliminary synonym of Sesleria italica

Genetic and morphological data reveal new insights into the taxonomy of Campanula versicolor s.l. (Campanulaceae)

Campanula versicolor is a constituent of the Campanula pyramidalis complex, distributed in the central and southern Balkan Peninsula with a small disjunct range in SE Italy. The taxonomy of the broadly defined C. versicolor was controversial in the past due to high morphological variability of the populations across the range. We used microsatellite DNA data along with morphometric analyses on an extensive population sampling covering the entire range to reconstruct the relationships among populations of the intricate C. versicolor s.l. Based on the results three distinct entities can be distinguished, circumscribed here on the subspecies level, with newly established combinations: C. versicolor subsp. versicolor, C. versicolor subsp. korabensis and C. versicolor subsp. tenorei. We propose a new taxonomic treatment of C. versicolor s.l. with description, distribution and habitat data for each of the subspecies and a key for their identification