Are atypical depression,borderline personality disorder and bipolar II disorder overlapping manifestations of a common cyclothymic diathesis?

The constructs of atypical depression, bipolar II disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD) overlap. We explored the relationships between these constructs and their temperamental underpinnings. We examined 107 consecutive patients who met DSM-IV criteria for major depressive episode with atypical features. Those who also met the DSM-IV criteria for BPD (BPD+), compared with those who did not (BPD-), had a significantly higher lifetime comorbidity for body dysmorphic disorder, bulimia nervosa, narcissistic, dependent and avoidant personality disorders, and cyclothymia. BPD+ also scored higher on the Atypical Depression Diagnostic Scale items of mood reactivity, interpersonal sensitivity, functional impairment, avoidance of relationships, other rejection avoidance, and on the Hopkins Symptoms Check List obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, anger-hostility, paranoid ideation and psychoticism factors. Logistic regression revealed that cyclothymic temperament accounted for much of the relationship between atypical depression and BPD, predicting 6 of 9 of the defining DSM-IV attributes of the latter. Trait mood lability (among BPD patients) and interpersonal sensitivity (among atypical depressive patients) appear to be related as part of an underlying cyclothymic temperamental matrix.     

REGULARLY ARRANGED PROTEIN ON THE SURFACES OF GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

• 1 Many species of Gram-negative bacteria carry a layer of regularly arranged sub-units on the outer surface of their outer membrane. The subunits are arranged tetra-gonally or hexagonally and have centre-to-centre spacings ranging from 4 to 35 nm, depending on the bacterial species.
• 2 The regularly arranged layer has been detected by electron microscopy in whole cells, cell walls, outer membranes and assemblies of isolated subunits. The regular arrays can be seen in intact cells by shadowing or freeze-etching and, occasionally, in thin sections or after negative-staining. Freeze-etching and negative-staining have been used to show the regular arrays in isolated cell walls and outer membranes. Negative-staining is used in the examination of assembled isolated subunits.
• 3 Optical diffraction of electron micrographs provides more detailed information of the fine structure of the subunits in the regular array.
• 4 The regularly arranged surface layer can be removed by protein perturbants, by chelation of divalent cations with EDTA and EGTA, by cation substitution or by acidification.
• 5 The two surface subunits which have so far been purified have been found to be acidic proteins with molecular weights of 67000 (Acimtobacter 199A) and 140000 (Spirillum serpens).
• 6 In Acinetobacter 199A the surface protein is attached to the protein of the outer membrane through a salt bridge involving Ca²⁺ or Mg²⁺. Evidence exists that there may be a similar mode of attachment in other species.
• 7 Isolated surface proteins from Acinetobacter 199A and from Spirillum spp. have the ability to reassemble into the same pattern as that seen on the bacterial surface, either in isolation or in the presence of cell-wall fragments to act as nucleating agents. Self-assembly of Acinetobacter 199A a-protein requires chloride ions.
• 8 Acinetobacter 199A a-protein can only be incorporated onto the bacterial surface if an intact lipopolysaccharide membrane is formed first to receive the intrinsic membrane proteins to which the a-protein attaches. Impairment of lipopolysaccharide synthesis by bacitracin prevents incorporation of a-protein and other membrane proteins into the outer membrane.
• 9 Continuing incorporation of pre-formed radioactive a-protein into the outer membrane in Acimtobacter 199A can be detected for 10 min after transference from radioactive to non-radioactive growth medium.
• 10 Spirillum metamorphum, Flexibacter sp. and Acinetobacter 199A synthesize more surface protein than is required to cover the cell surface. The excess is secreted into the growth medium.
• 11 The regularly arranged surface protein of Acinetobacter 199A provides partial protection against isolated lysosomal proteinases from polymorphonuclear leucocytes. Spirillum spp. is protected from Bdellovibrio invasion by the surface protein.
• 12 Secreted a-protein from Acimtobacter 199A has phospholipase A, activity. No phospholipase activity can be detected when the a-protein is bound to the bacterial surface.

     

Deeply divergent lineages of the widespread New Zealand amphipod Paracalliope fluviatilis revealed using allozyme and mitochondrial DNA analyses

1. We evaluated the population genetic structure of the common New Zealand amphipod Paracalliope fluviatilis using eight allozyme loci, and the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene locus. Morphological analyses were also conducted to evaluate any phenotypic differences. Individuals belonging to P. fluviatilis were collected from a total of 14 freshwater fluvial habitats on the North and South Islands, New Zealand. 2. We found evidence for strong genetic differentiation among locations (Wright's F_ST > 0.25), and fixed differences (non‐shared alleles) at two of the eight allozyme loci indicating the possibility of previously unknown species. Analysis of a 545‐bp fragment of the COI locus was mostly congruent with the allozyme data and revealed the same deeply divergent lineages (sequence divergences up to 26%). 3. Clear genetic breaks were identified between North Island and South Island populations. North Island populations separated by <100 km also showed genetic differences between east and west draining watersheds (sequence divergence >12%). Accordingly, present‐day dispersal among hydrologically isolated habitats appears minimal for this taxon. 4. Although population differences were clearly shown by allozyme and mtDNA analyses, individuals were morphologically indistinguishable. This suggests that, as in North American and European taxa (e.g. Hyalella and Gammarus), morphological conservatism may be prevalent among New Zealand's freshwater amphipods. We conclude that molecular techniques, particularly the COI gene locus, may be powerful tools for resolving species that show no distinctive morphological differences.     

The role of anxious and hyperthymic temperaments in mental disorders: a national epidemiologic study

Temperament has been demonstrated clinically to be linked to mental disorders. We aimed to determine the possible role of temperament in mental disorders in a national epidemiologic study. A nationally representative sample of adults (n=1320) was administered the Lebanese-Arabic version of the Temperament Evaluation of the Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A), and the Arabic CIDI 3.0, as part of the LEBANON study. The association among temperaments and DSM-IV mood, anxiety, and impulse control disorders was assessed. The anxious temperament was shown to be a robust predictor of most disorders, especially within the anxiety and depressive clusters. The hyperthymic temperament had a uniquely protective effect on most mental disorders, with the exception of separation anxiety, bipolar, substance abuse and impulse control disorders. These effects were moderated by age and education. Temperaments, previously largely neglected in epidemiologic studies, could play a major role in the origin of mental disorders.     

A review of the New Zealand Chirostylidae (Anomura: Galatheoidea) with description of six new species from the Kermadec Islands

Prior to the present study, seven species of deep‐sea Chirostylidae (‘squat lobsters’), were known from New Zealand: Gastroptychus novaezelandiae, Uroptychodes spinimarginatus, Uroptychus australis, Uroptychus maori, Uroptychus novaezelandiae, Uroptychus politus, and Uroptychus tomentosus. All species are examined from type material and discussed, original illustrations supplemented, and new records provided where available. Uroptychus maori and Uroptychus novaezelandiae are re‐described. The chirostylid fauna of the Kermadec Islands, a remote group of islands north‐east of New Zealand, is studied. Uroptychus alcocki and Uroptychus scambus are reported for the first time from New Zealand, and six new species of the genus Uroptychus are described. Distributional patterns of New Zealand species are discussed and a key to New Zealand Uroptychus species is presented. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 155 , 542–582.