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AFLP analysis was used to examine the genetic structure of the mycoparasite Sphaerellopsis filum on willow rust Melampsora larici-epitea using two sets of samples of a willow clone in a short-rotation coppice planting. The first set was collected from a plot (short strip) in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the second from another plot (long strip) in 2000. In all, 228 S. filum isolates were typed, 139 AFLP loci scored and 54 AFLP genotypes identified. In the short strip, genotypes sampled in 1998 were no longer detected in subsequent years and genotype diversity fluctuated (0·25–0·68) over the years, indicating that migration had a major impact on the genotype structure. Two distinct groups (average Nei and Li's similarity coefficient between the groups = 0·047) were identified. The group B genotypes were sampled only in 2000. Within the groups, the average similarities were > 0·96. Both the index of association test and the parsimony tree length permutation test suggest that there was a significant clonality in group A while recombination cannot be ruled out in group B. Localized clusters of AFLP genotypes were detected using the software SaTScan that is based on the spatial scan statistic. Possible mechanisms involved in the spread of S. filum in willow coppice plantations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AFLP profiles were generated from poplar leaf rust ( Melampsora larici-populina) collected from Populus trichocarpa cv. Trichobel at six sites in the UK in 2001. Of a total of 145 isolates, 121 were unique AFLP phenotypes. On one occasion, the same AFLP phenotype was found at two sites. The analysis indicated that 81·88% of the total variation was attributable to differences among individuals within replicate plots, 3·47% to differences among plots within sites and 14·65% to differences among sites. Weir & Cockerham's θ was calculated as 0·138 and θ B, the Bayesian analogue of FST, as 0·146. Overall, there was sufficient gene flow among different sites to prevent genetic drift, as Nm was calculated as 1·562 using θ and as 1·462 using θ B . Nei's genetic distance and population-assignment test indicated that the rust from a site in north-east England was differentiated from those from other sites. There was no significant correlation between genetic and geographical distances. The results indicate that sexual reproduction has a major influence on the relative lack of population structure of M. larici-populina in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the study The prevalence of neurocognitive impairment (NCI) in people living with HIV has previously been reported between 20-50%, with prevalence rates of depression reported between 12-71%. The primary objective of the CRANIum study was to describe the prevalence of a positive screen for NCI and depression/anxiety in an HIV-1-infected adult population, comparing ARV-naïve and -experienced patients. Here we present an ethnicity analysis of the CRANIum data. Methods The study was an epidemiologic, cross-sectional study that included HIV-1-infected patients >18 years old attending a routine clinic visit. One-third of patients were ART-naïve, one-third on a PI/r- and one-third on a NNRTI-based regimen. The Brief Neurocognitive Screen (BNCS) was used to screen for NCI. It consists of the Digit Symbol and Trailmaking A and B tests. A standard deviation of >1 on 2 tests or >2 on 1 test was considered a positive screen for NCI. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to screen for anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D). HADS is self-administered and consists of 14 items (7 HADS-A, 7 HADS-D) scored between 0 to 3. A score of ≥8 was considered as a positive screen for either condition. Summary of results 2859 evaluable patients were included from 15 countries. Baseline characteristics are shown in table 1 (*p < 0.05 as compared with Caucasian group). Overall, 41.4% of patients had a positive screen for NCI, 33.3% for anxiety and 15.7% for depression. Results by ethnicity are shown in figure 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Balance control is important for mobility, yet exoskeleton research has mainly focused on improving metabolic energy efficiency. Here we present a biomimetic exoskeleton controller that supports walking balance and reduces muscle activity. Methods: Humans restore balance after a perturbation by adjusting activity of the muscles actuating the ankle in proportion to deviations from steady-state center of mass kinematics. We designed a controller that mimics the neural control of steady-state walking and the balance recovery responses to perturbations. This controller uses both feedback from ankle kinematics in accordance with an existing model and feedback from the center of mass velocity. Control parameters were estimated by fitting the experimental relation between kinematics and ankle moments observed in humans that were walking while being perturbed by push and pull perturbations. This identified model was implemented on a bilateral ankle exoskeleton. Results: Across twelve subjects, exoskeleton support reduced calf muscle activity in steady-state walking by 19% with respect to a minimal impedance controller (p < 0.001). Proportional feedback of the center of mass velocity improved balance support after perturbation. Muscle activity is reduced in response to push and pull perturbations by 10% (p = 0.006) and 16% (p < 0.001) and center of mass deviations by 9% (p = 0.026) and 18% (p = 0.002) with respect to the same controller without center of mass feedback. Conclusion: Our control approach implemented on bilateral ankle exoskeletons can thus effectively support steady-state walking and balance control and therefore has the potential to improve mobility in balance-impaired individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 174Salix(willow) clones belonging to 57 species and 14 interspecific hybrids were inoculated with seven pathotypes ofMelampsora larici-epiteausing the leaf disc method. Infection types were scored based on the uredinial pustule area data and the inoculum density. A close correlation (R2 = 0·82) was found between the average pustule area and the average number of spores produced. Most of the willows were also assessed in the field for rust in 1999. Most willow clones belonging to the species native to western Europe were infected by the rust. In inoculation experiments, uredinia developed on 46S. viminalisclones, out of a total of 47. In the field, all theS. viminalisclones were infected by rust. Within the subgenusVetrix, eight out of the 17 willow species that originated from North and South America produced rust pustules in inoculation experiments. Of these,S. pellitawas most susceptible.Salix irrorataandS. lasiolepsisvar.bracelinaeproduced well developed pustules after inoculation but no rust infections were detected in the field. In both leaf disc tests and field assessments, no rust infections were found onS. candida,S. cordata,S. drummondiana,S. eriocephala,S. hookeriana,S. houghtonii,S. humilis,S. rigidavar.mackenzianaandS. syrticola. Of 12 species of subgenusVetrixnative to northeast Asia and Japan, onlyS. kochianawas susceptible both in inoculation tests and in the field.Salix rossicaproduced no symptoms in leaf disc tests but showed low levels of infection in the field. The maximum infection type scores in leaf disc tests were highly significantly correlated with field disease severity scores (Spearman rank correlation coefficient was 0·76,P < 1 × 10−10). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work is focused on the dependence of the Raman scattering properties of single GaN nanowires on their size and aspect ratio. We found that, the Raman scattering by optical phonons of hexagonal GaN nanowires evolves with decreasing nanowire diameter. Below 100 nm diameter, strongly polarized Raman scattering is detected when in-coming and out-going light polarizations are parallel to the nanowire axis, which is interpreted in terms of optical antenna effects. Moreover, we observe additional vibrational modes between the longitudinal and transverse phonon frequencies of GaN which are not present in bulk GaN. Based on a numerical dielectric confinement model, these modes are tentatively assigned to confined and surface phonons. The results presented in this work contribute to the understanding of the optical and vibrational properties of semiconductor nanowires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two F1, two F2 and two backcross (BC) full-sib families of Salix sachalinensis × S. viminalis were tested for resistance to two pathotypes of Melampsora larici-epitea in leaf-disc inoculation experiments. Two single-pustule isolates, VM and ST, belonging to pathotypes LET1 and LET5, respectively, were used in the tests. Disease was scored based on the number of uredinia, uredinial diameter and inoculum densities. Both F1 families were completely resistant to both VM and ST. Resistance to VM segregated at a 9:6:1 ratio in the F2 families and at a 1:2:1 ratio in the BC families, suggesting that two independently segregating genes controlled rust resistance, with resistance dominant over susceptibility. This also indicates incomplete dominance of the resistance alleles over the susceptibility to VM. For ST, the equivalent ratios were 3:1 and 1:1, showing that a single dominant gene was responsible for rust resistance. The broad sense heritabilities were >0·91 for uredinial diameter and 0·1–0·33 for the number of uredinia. There were significant overall correlations between data from inoculations with VM and those from inoculations with ST in the number of uredinia, uredinial diameter and disease scores (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients = 0·31–0·75). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five pathotypes of the willow rust Melamspora larici-epitea were inoculated with 12 isolates of Sphaerellopsis filum derived from Melampsora species/forms occurring on willows. On average, 20.5% uredinial pustules produced S. filum pycnidia and rust spore production was reduced by 38.4% on leaf discs inoculated with S. filum. Some rust isolates were more readily infected by S. filum than others while some S. filum isolates caused higher levels of infections than other S. filum isolates. In general, the suppressive effects of these S. filum isolates on rust spore production were similar on the majority of rust pathotypes tested. There appeared to be a positive link between the rust pustule area and the rate of infection by S. filum. Sphaerellopsis filum inoculum densities were positively correlated with the reduction in rust spore production but not with the number of rust pustules. Implications from the results were discussed in relation to the deployment of S. filum in biological control of willow rust in willow mixture plantations which harbour more diverse rust pathotypes compared with monocultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The action mechanisms that explain how Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) improve the well-being of people with mental disorders remain unclear (Alsubaie et al., 2017). This question leads us to ask how we measure mindfulness as a construct. Only two questionnaires are available nowadays in Spanish: the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) (Cebolla et al., 2012) and the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) (Brown and Ryan, 2003). In the Spanish validation of the MAAS (Soler et al., 2012) the authors report a lack of sensibility to change that may render it inadequate to be used for the purpose of measuring the influence over mindfulness of a given intervention. Objectives: To test if a MBI (SocialMIND®) increases mindfulness, as measured by MAAS. Methods: A prospective single group clinical trial including participants with psychotic disorders was carried out. Mindfulness disposition was measured with the MAAS after 8 weeks of treatment. Results: 33 participants were included. MAAS scores did not increase after SocialMIND® (t=0.005, p=1). Conclusions: These results seem to support previous evidence which points towards the lack of sensibility to change of the MAAS (MacKillop et al., 2007; Soler et al., 2012). MAAS does not discriminate between non meditators and novice meditators. This is highly important in psychotic population because they have troubles acquiring habits, such as meditation. MAAS might be a valid instrument for studies where intense meditation practice is made, so a pre-post intervention change may be detected. More sensible instruments or new specific ones must be validated in Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Studies have associated students from Medicine and other healthcare degrees with high levels of stress and depression. This puts at risk both their mental health and the quality of physician-patient relationship. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program has been shown to improve psychological wellbeing and to reduce rumination; however, it seems unclear if digital programs have the same effect. Objectives: To compare the effectiveness of a mindfulness smartphone app versus an adapted version of the MBSR program among healthcare students. Methods: A parallel-group, single-blind, randomised (1:1:1), controlled trial was designed. 140 students of Medicine, Nursing, Psychology and Nutrition were allocated to either the app program, the in-person program, or a waitlist. The assessment of depressive symptoms was included though the Beck Depression Inventory at baseline and post-intervention (8 weeks). Results: 86 participants completed BDI at both times and an intention-to-treat analysis was performed. Depressive levels changed from 7.21 (SD 6.08) to 4.07 (SD 4.44) in the app group, and from 7.11 (SD 6.62) to 5.26 (SD 5.21) in the in-person group. ANOVA test did not find a significant difference for depression among the three arms. Conclusions: Only a tendency to significance was found for both the app and the in-person program for the reduction of depressive symptoms. Most participants presented minimum levels of depression at baseline, so a floor effect might be considered as an explanation. Future studies are needed to determine the effect of mindfulnessbased programs on the depression levels of healthcare students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Insight disruption is a core characteristic of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder (SSD) (Moritz et al., 2017). Beck introduced the concept of "cognitive insight" as the capacity of the patient to distance oneself from and to reevaluate misguided beliefs and interpretations (Beck et al., 2004). This insight can bemeasured by the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS). Mindfulness is defined as paying attention to the present moment, on purpose and non-judgmentally (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). Mindfulness meditation promotes an open orientation to one's mental events so Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) might improve psychotic patients' cognitive insight. Objectives: To test if a mindfulness-based intervention (SocialMIND®) for patients with first-episode psychosis increases cognitive insight. Methods: A parallel-group, randomized, controlled (SocialMIND® versus psychoeducational multicomponent intervention [PMI]), clinical trial has been implemented. 23 participants received 16 weeks of group therapy. Cognitive insight was measured with the BCIS. Results: There were significant differences in BCIS scores in the Self-certainty subscale between PMI (M1=9,09, SD=3,83, M2=9.55, S.D2=3.24,) and SocialMIND® (M1=6,46, SD1=2,44, M2=5.38, SD2=2.66) after 16 weeks of treatment (t(22)=-2.2, p=0.04, d=0.88). Conclusions: This result is congruent with the theorical background of each intervention. PMI focuses on providing educational information about psychosis. This expert information might lead to the sensation of a better understanding of the pathology and may increase the sensation of certainty. Meanwhile, SocialMIND® approaches the psychotic experience and the way the patient's mind is working from an experiential and individual point of view. This might lead to a greater awareness of mental processes, reducing the certainty about mind contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six Salix clones and four Melampsora larici-epitea isolates were used in two leaf-disc inoculation experiments to determine whether disease severity was affected by the presence of both virulent and avirulent rust genotypes. In the first experiment, an equal amount of urediniospores of a virulent isolate and an avirulent isolate was applied simultaneously using four levels of spore suspension. In the second, the willows were inoculated with one isolate first and then, after 3 days, with another using two spore concentrations. In the first experiment, overall rust spore production was reduced by 48.6% in inoculations with mixed inocula compared with that in the inoculations with single virulent isolates. In the second experiment, 20 of the 36 combinations involving pre-inoculations with avirulent isolates showed significant reduction in spore production. The suppressive effects on rust sporulation were more obvious at the higher inoculum densities and on the clones S. × calodendron and S. × mollissima‘Q83’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Svrakic DM, Draganic S, Hill K, Bayon C, Przybeck TR, Cloninger CR. Temperament, character, and personality disorders: etiologic, diagnostic, treatment issues. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2002: 106: 189–195. © Blackwell Munksgaard 2002. Objective: In this paper, we explore the underlying dimensional structure of personality disorder, propose a novel approach to its diagnosis, and outline our concepts of its etiology and treatment based on the seven factor psychobiological model of temperament and character. Method: Temperament and character traits were evaluated in a consecutive series of 109 psychiatric out-patients, with or without personality disorder and varying mood and anxiety states. Results: Low scores on character dimensions consistently correlated with high symptom counts for personality disorder. Each subtype of personality disorder created a unique combination of correlations with the four temperament traits. Conclusion: Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) temperament and character traits efficiently diagnose personality disorder and differentiate its individual subtypes. Character traits are used to diagnose the presence and the severity of personality disorder, whereas temperament traits are used for differential diagnosis. The distinction between temperament and character provides an attractive theoretical basis for etiological postulates and treatment of personality disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six Salix clones were inoculated with urediniospores of four isolates of Melampsora larici-epitea at five inoculum levels using a leaf-disc method. Disease reactions were recorded using a digital camera; the number and size of uredinia were examined using image analysis software; and spore yield per leaf disc was measured. In three Salix /Melampsora combinations, S. × mollissima ‘Q83’/Q1 (LET4); S. viminalis ‘78183’/V1 (LET1); and S. × stipularis /V1, pustule numbers increased as inoculum density became higher. In the remainder, S. viminalis ‘Mullatin’/V1; S. × calodendron /DB (LET3); and S. burjatica ‘Korso’/K (LR1), pustule numbers initially increased, then decreased as inoculum densities exceeded 140–360 spores per disc. Calculated infection efficiency ranged from 0·11 to 0·20 on the three willows inoculated with V1: 0·16–0·68 for S. × calodendron /DB; 0·20–0·55 for ‘Q83’/Q1; and 0·07–0·48 for Korso/K. In single-spore inoculations, up to 10% of spores produced single uredinia. Infection efficiency increased sharply between inoculum densities of 1–40 spores per leaf disc. Spore yield was more closely correlated to pustule area (accounting for 61·2% variance for the combined data) than to the number of pustules (42·7% variance). For spore yields in relation to pustule numbers, clone-specific individual lines having different intercepts and slopes fitted significantly better than either a single line for all the tested willows, or parallel lines fitted to each clone (P < 0·001). For spore yields in relation to pustule area, clone-specific individual parallel lines were significantly better than a single line (P < 0·001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Impairment in different social cognition domains has been found across different phases of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. There is growing evidence showing that they are linked with worse functional outcomes, which raises the question whether they remain stable over time. To date, few studies have tried to establish a comparison between social cognition performance in early and chronic psychosis and mixed findings have arised Objectives: The aim of the current study is to compare social cognition performance between samples of early and chronic psychosis. Methods: Data from 81 patients: 53 chronic (>5y) psychotic patients and 28 early psychosis (<5y) was collected. Patients were assessed on different Social Cognition tasks: Reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET), Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ) and Hinting Task Test (HT). Results: Compared with chronic SSD patients, Early Psychosis group had better performance on some social cognition tasks: HT, Mean Difference (MD): -1,593 CI 95% -2,551 to -0,634 p:0.02; and RMET MD: -3,142 CI95% -5.490 to -0,794 p:0.01. Although no differences were found on global AIHQ performance, Early Psychosis patients tended to display more aggression attributions (AIHQ-AB MD: -,24080 CI95% -,474 to -,007 p: 0,044), and Chronic SSD patients more hostility attributions (AIHQ-HB MD: 0,303 CI95% 0,002 to 0,603) Conclusions: Social Cognition decline in psychotic population is a largely unexplored field, although it can be an important factor explaining functional decline in patients not attending psychosocial treatments focusing on this field. Clinical significance of the results and limitations of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: People with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSDs) suffer significant social cognitive impairments (Paker, Foley, Walker & Dark, 2013). Social cognitive trainings are emerging interventions aiming to target these impairments and improve functional outcomes (Green et al., 2015). Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) (Taylor et al., 2016) and Training of Affect Recognition (TAR) both improve social cognition (Vaskinn et al., 2019). Social-MIND® is the first mindfulness-based social cognition training tailormade for people with psychosis (Mediavilla et al., 2019a). Objectives: To explore the changes in emotion recognition after SocialMIND® in a sample of people with SSD. Methods: SocialMIND® is delivered over 9 months, the first two including 8 weekly sessions. 46 patients were included: 25 subjects completed a feasibility trial while 21 subjects are currently enrolled in a Randomized Controlled Trial (Mediavilla et al., 2019b). Assessment included the RMET. Results: 46 participants completed weekly sessions and assessment. Participants displayed a significant improvement of 3,85 in RMET scores (p=0,012, d=0,42). Conclusions: SocialMIND® is one of the first social cognition trainings for SSD to show an improvement in emotion recognition. Similar pre-to post-intervention results have also been achieved by SCIT (Gordon et al., 2018; Voutilainen, Kouhia, Roberts & Oksanen, 2016) and TAR (Sachs et al., 2012). However, different methodological issues render comparisons impractical as results have been inconsistent (Roberts et al., 2014). Given the role of social cognition in schizophrenia (Galderisi et al., 2018), future research lines should delve deeper into the key active ingredients and action mechanisms of social cognition trainings for people with psychosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recent studies support the efficacy of Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) reducing negative symptoms (Sabe et at., 2019), but report no significant effects on positive symptoms (Shieh et al, 2018). A recent meta-analysis found a strong beneficial effect of MBIs in reducing depressive symptoms among people with severe mental illness (Goldberg et al, 2018), supporting the consideration of MBIs as a convenient therapy for psychotic disorders. Objectives: To determine the effects of a MBI (SocialMIND®) on depression, negative and positive symptoms. Methods: A parallel-group, controlled (SocialMIND® versus psychoeducational multicomponent intervention [PMI]), clinical trial has been implemented. The participants received 16 weeks of group therapy. Depression, positive and negative symptoms were measured with the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results: 23 participants were included. There were no differences in general psychopathology, positive or negative symptoms. However, we found a significant decrease in negative symptom scores when analyzing both groups together (PMI and SocialMIND®) (t(23)=-2.53, p=0.019). There were no significant intergroup differences in depressive symptoms (t(22)=2.09, p=0.057, d=0.8). However, the 95% confidence interval in the PMI group [-5.4, 0.67] compared with SocialMIND®'s [-0.91, 1.99] shows a tendency of a better performance of PMI in reducing depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Both interventions reduced negative symptons, These results are in line with the findings of a greater effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (group therapy) over Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (individual therapy) on negative symptoms (Louise et al., 2018), suggesting a group intervention in itselfmight be effective in reducing negative symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of the study To investigate if boosted protease inhibitor monotherapy is associated with a higher risk of neurocognitive impairment (NCI). Methods HIV-infected patients from two hospitals in Madrid (Spain) without concomitant major neurocognitive confounders, currently receiving for ≥1 year lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV) or darunavir/ritonavir (DRV) as monotherapy or with two N(t)RTIs were included if they had prolonged (≥1 year) plasma viral suppression (<50 c/mL, single blip allowed). Patients underwent full neurocognitive assessment (7 domains) by two psychologists blinded to the treatment group. NCI was defined as per 2007 Frascati criteria using demographically adjusted normative scores. Rates of NCI and the association between NCI and boosted protease inhibitor monotherapy, adjusted by significant confounders, were analyzed. Two categories of monotherapy duration were considered: short-term (1-2 years) and long-term (2-9 years). We evaluated as potential confounding variables: demographics, HIV risk factor, AIDS, CD4 (nadir/current), smoking, alcohol/illicit drug use, prior medical, neurological and psychiatric disease, HCV coinfection, years of ART, prior blips, time with HIV viral suppression, type of protease inhibitor, lipids and HOMA index. Summary of results 191 patients (89.5% Caucasian) were included (Table 1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]