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Introduction: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), characterized by repetitive anxiety-inducing intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors, is associated with higher suicide ideation and suicide attempts than the general population. This study investigates the prevalence and the correlates of current suicide risk in adult outpatients in an international multisite cross-sectional sample of OCD outpatients. Methods: Data were derived from the International College of Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders (ICOCS) network's cross-sectional data set (N = 409). Current suicide risk (assessed by Item C of the MINI) and diagnoses of psychiatric disorders were based on DSM-IV. Chi-squared test for categorical variables and t-test for continuous variables were used to make statistical inferences about main features associated with current suicide risk. P < .05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of current suicidal risk was 15.9%, with equal likelihood in sociodemographic variables, including age and gender. Increased rates of major depression and generalized anxiety disorder were associated to higher current suicide risk. Current suicide risk was also associated with higher severity of OCD, depressive comorbidity, and higher levels of disability. There were no significant differences in treatment correlates—including type of treatment and psychiatric hospitalizations—between the groups of individuals with and without current suicide risk. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that current suicide risk is common in patients with OCD and associated with various forms of pathology. Our work also provides further empirical data to support what is already known clinically: a worse clinical picture characterized by a high severity of OCD, high distress related to obsessions and compulsions, and the presence of comorbidities such as major depression and generalized anxiety disorder should be considered as relevant risk factors for suicide risk.

Hoarding disorder (HD), characterized by difficulty parting with possessions and functionally impairing clutter, affects 2–6% of the population. Originally considered part of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), HD became a distinct diagnostic entity in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013. While sleep impacts OCD, little is known about sleep in HD. As HD patients often report poor sleep in clinical settings, understanding global subjective sleep quality and disturbances may lead to novel therapeutic targets. To address this gap, the authors used a sample of convenience: an existing data set designed to screen research study eligibility and explore the psychopathology and phenomenology of OCD and HD. The data set included information collected from individuals with HD (n = 38), OCD (n = 26), and healthy participants (n = 22) about insomnia, sleep quality, and mood using interviews and structured instruments including the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). In this data set, HD and OCD groups reported significantly greater insomnia symptoms and poorer sleep quality compared with healthy controls while controlling for depression, age, and gender. A sizable minority of HD and OCD individuals met criteria for comorbid sleep disorders. OCD and HD groups differed in delayed sleep phase prevalence. To our knowledge, this is the first study examining subjective sleep quality and insomnia in HD as compared to healthy individuals and those with OCD, while controlling for relevant clinical characteristics. Given that there are evidence-based treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders, our study raises the possibility that treatment interventions targeting sleep may improve HD outcomes.

African bananas (Musa spp.) account for 11% of banana consumed in European Union (EU). Only dessert bananas (AAA genome) are shipped from Africa to EU and despite Africa being a major production zone for cooking banana (AAA-EA genome) and plantain (AAB genome) exports to EU of these types originate from Latin America (60,000 t/year). In regard to dessert banana, Cameroon and Ivory Coast have long monopolized African exports to the EU but since 2006 Ghana has began exportation. A small number of groups of operators, with strong links to European importers, control export chains and achieve greater profits through this route than offered by nearby markets. African countries enjoy preferential access to the EU as part of the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of states (ACP countries) with favorable import tariffs under the 'duty free, quota free' (DFQF) regime. Economic partnership agreements (EPAs) between African countries and the EU have removed levies of ¿176 customs/t of ACP bananas imported (~¿160 million/year) and enhanced the competitive ability of African suppliers compared to suppliers from the dollar zone. However, in view of current market deregulation in the EU, continuation of the preferential treatment will be hard to defend and the significant tariff advantage for ACP suppliers is being questioned. Furthermore one of Africa's advantages over Latin America is its closeness to the European market but this is being threatened as intermediate freight-related costs have increased considerably in recent years. As a consequence of these changes the African banana-exporting sector must improve its competitiveness to safeguard its EU market. This can be achieved through production and market innovations which are discussed in this paper.

International audience; GIF‐DB and FlyNets are two WWW databases describing molecular (protein‐DNA, protein‐RNA and protein‐protein) interactions occuring in the fly Drosophila melanogaster (http://gifts.univ‐mrs.fr/GIFTS\ₕome\ₚage.html ). GIF‐DB is a specialised database which focuses on molecular interactions involved in the process of embryonic pattern formation, whereas FlyNets is a new and more general database, the long‐term goal of which is to report on any published molecular interaction occuring in the fly. The information content of both databases is distributed in specific lines arranged into an EMBL‐ (or GenBank‐) like format. These databases achieve a high level of integration with other databases such as FlyBase, EMBL, GenBank and SWISS‐PROT through numerous hyperlinks. In addition, we also describe SOS‐DGDB, a new collection of annotated Drosophila gene sequences, in which binding sites for regulatory proteins are directly visible on the DNA primary sequence and hyperlinked both to GIF‐DB and TRANSFAC database entries.