Associations between dimensions of anorexia nervosa and obsessive–compulsive disorder: An examination of personality and psychological factors in patients with anorexia nervosa

Objective: Anorexia nervosa (AN) and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) are highly comorbid. However, the factors that account for this comorbidity are poorly understood. We examined the core dimensions of AN and OCD and psychological and personality factors shared by both disorders. Method: In path analyses (N = 732 women with either current AN or recovered from AN), we examined which factors were uniquely and independently associated with the core dimensions of AN and OCD. We also examined recovery from AN as a moderator. Results: When individuals with AN reported greater concern over mistakes, they endorsed more severity in both AN and OCD core dimensions. These unique associations existed above and beyond all other transdiagnostic personality and psychological factors and regardless of AN recovery status. Conclusions: Concern over mistakes partially accounts for severity in the core dimensions of both AN and OCD. Concern over mistakes may represent an important target in the aetiology of AN and OCD

The Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI): Overview and methods

Background: Genetic factors contribute to anorexia nervosa (AN); and the first genome-wide significant locus has been identified. We describe methods and procedures for the Anorexia Nervosa Genetics Initiative (ANGI), an international collaboration designed to rapidly recruit 13,000 individuals with AN and ancestrally matched controls. We present sample characteristics and the utility of an online eating disorder diagnostic questionnaire suitable for large-scale genetic and population research. Methods: ANGI recruited from the United States (US), Australia/New Zealand (ANZ), Sweden (SE), and Denmark (DK). Recruitment was via national registers (SE, DK); treatment centers (US, ANZ, SE, DK); and social and traditional media (US, ANZ, SE). All cases had a lifetime AN diagnosis based on DSM-IV or ICD-10 criteria (excluding amenorrhea). Recruited controls had no lifetime history of disordered eating behaviors. To assess the positive and negative predictive validity of the online eating disorder questionnaire (ED100K-v1), 109 women also completed the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID), Module H. Results: Blood samples and clinical information were collected from 13,363 individuals with lifetime AN and from controls. Online diagnostic phenotyping was effective and efficient; the validity of the questionnaire was acceptable. Conclusions: Our multi-pronged recruitment approach was highly effective for rapid recruitment and can be used as a model for efforts by other groups. High online presence of individuals with AN rendered the Internet/social media a remarkably effective recruitment tool in some countries. ANGI has substantially augmented Psychiatric Genomics Consortium AN sample collection. ANGI is a registered clinical trial: clinicaltrials.govNCT01916538; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01916538?cond=Anorexia+Nervosa&draw=1&rank=3

Anti-frameshifting ligand reduces the conformational plasticity of the SARS virus pseudoknot

Programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1 PRF) stimulated by mRNA pseudoknots regulates gene expression in many viruses, making pseudoknots potential targets for anti-viral drugs. The mechanism by which pseudoknots trigger -1 PRF, however, remains controversial, with several competing models. Recent work showed that high -1 PRF efficiency was linked to high pseudoknot conformational plasticity via the formation of alternate conformers. We tested whether pseudoknots bound with an anti-frameshifting ligand exhibited a similar correlation between conformational plasticity and -1 PRF efficiency by measuring the effects of a ligand that was found to inhibit -1 PRF in the SARS coronavirus on the conformational dynamics of the SARS pseudoknot. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy to unfold pseudoknots mechanically, we found that the ligand binding effectively abolished the formation of alternate conformers. This result extends the connection between -1 PRF and conformational dynamics and, moreover, suggests that targeting the conformational dynamics of pseudoknots may be an effective strategy for anti-viral drug design. \ua9 2014 American Chemical Society.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Transition path times for nucleic acid folding determined from energy-landscape analysis of single-molecule trajectories

The duration of structural transitions in biopolymers is only a fraction of the time spent searching diffusively over the configurational energy landscape. We found the transition time, \u3c4 TP, and the diffusion constant, D, for DNA and RNA folding using energy landscapes obtained from single-molecule trajectories under tension in optical traps. DNA hairpins, RNA pseudoknots, and a riboswitch all had \u3c4 TP 3c10\u3bcs and D 3c10 -13 -14m2/s, despite widely differing unfolding rates. These results show how energy-landscape analysis can be harnessed to characterize brief but critical events during folding reactions. \ua9 2012 American Physical Society.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Transformation challenges: from software models to performance models

A software model can be analysed for non-functional requirements by extending it with suitable annotations and transforming it into analysis models for the corresponding non-functional properties. For quantitative performance evaluation, suitable annotations are standardized in the “UML Profile for Modeling and Analysis of Real-Time Embedded systems” (MARTE) and its predecessor, the “UML Profile for Schedulability, Performance and Time”. A range of different performance model types (such as queueing networks, Petri nets, stochast

Performance Analysis of Security Aspects in UML Models

The focus of the paper is on the analysis of performance effects of different security solutions modeled as aspects in UML. Aspect oriented modeling (AOM) allows software designers to isolate and separately address solutions for crosscutting concerns, which are defined as distinct UML aspect models, then are composed with the primary UML model of the system under development. For performance analysis we use techniques developed previously in the PUMA project, which take as input UML models annotated with the standard UML Profile for Schedulability, Performance and Time (SPT), and transform them first into Core Scenario Model (CSM) and then into different performance models. The contribution of this paper is in performing the composition of the aspects with the primary model at the CSM level. The input is\ud represented by the primary model and a number of aspect models in UML+SPT, which are processed as follows: a) converted separately to CSM; b) composed into a single CSM model; c) transformed into a Layered Queueing Networks (LQN) model and d) analyzed. The proposed approach is illustrated with a case study based on two standards, TPC-W and SSL

Performance by Unified Model Analysis (PUMA)

Evaluation of non-functional properties of a design (such as performance, dependability, security, etc.) can be enabled by design annotations specific to the property to be evaluated. Performance properties, for instance,

Effects of sugars and aminooxyacetic acid on the longevity of pollinated Oncidium Gower Ramsey flowers

The effects of sugars and aminooxyacetic acid (AOA) on the vase life of pollinated Oncidium Gower Ramsey flowers were investigated in this study. AOA was found to be an effective ethylene inhibitor as holding solutions containing 0.5 mM of AOA considerably prolonged the vase life of the flowers. The best treatment in delaying the senescence of pollinated Oncidium Gower Ramsey flowers were solutions of 4 sucrose + 0.5 mM AOA and 0.5 mM AOA. Both these treatments managed to delay the discolouration, furrowing and appearance of the veins up to nearly twice the length of time it took for the control flowers held in distilled water, to start senescing. The addition of glucose to the holding solution was not as effective as sucrose in delaying the senescence and prolonging the vase life of the flowers. Signs of senescence such as discolouration were measured using the Minolta chroma meter. Weight loss and pH of the holding solutions were also measured daily. AOA added in the solutions had a positive effect of lowering the pH of the holding solution thus inhibiting bacterial growth in the vial. A low pH also accounted for better water uptake by the flowers which delayed turgor loss and thus also delaying the wilting of the flowers