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

Asyneuma pichleri (Vis.) D. Lakusic & F. Conti comb. nova (A. sect. Clinocarpium, Campanulaceae), a neglected species from the Balkan Peninsula

Campanula pichleri is revalueted and a new combination of Asyneuma is proposed

Typification of the name Edraianthus siculus (Campanulaceae), endemic species from S-Italy

Edraianthus (Candolle 1830: 130) Candolle (1839: 149) (Campanulaceae Juss.) is a genus of 10–14 species with a centre of distribution in the Balkans, while disjunctions occur in the central and southern Apennines (peninsular Italy), Sicily, and the southern Carpathians (Stefanović et al. 2008). Four species complexes were recognized by Stefanović et al. (2008) and Surina et al. (2009), i.e. “E. tenuifoliuscomplex”, “E. pumilio-complex”, “E. serpyllifolius-complex”, and “E. graminifolius-complex”. The same authors (Stefanović et al. l.c., and Surina et al. l.c.) highlighted the existence of multiple lineages within the current delimitation of Edraianthus graminifolius (Linnaeus 1753: 268) Candolle (1839: 448) s.l. Campanula graminifolia L. [basionym of Edraianthus. graminifolius subsp. graminifolius], the only Linnaean name currently included within Edraianthus, was recently typified by Ferrer-Gallego (2019) who proposed a lectotype (a Barrelier’s image) and an epitype deposited at BEOU (“Campo Imperatore-La Fornaca, Lakušić & Conti s.n., BEOU9637!”). The other subspecies currently accepted, i.e. Campanula graminifolia subsp. siculus (Strobl 1883: 551) Candolle (1839: 448), has not yet been typified and it is here investigated as part of the project Italian Loci Classici Census (see e.g., Peruzzi et al. 2019), and of a line of research developed in the last decade by the Herbarium Flaminio (HFLA, Sapienza University of Rome) that is focused on the amphiadriatic floristic component of the Apennine-Balkan montane dry grasslands (e.g., Di Pietro et al. 2013, 2017, Iamonico et al. 2017)

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