Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization's World Mental Health Survey Initiative

Data are presented on the lifetime prevalence, projected lifetime risk, and age-of-onset distributions of mental disorders in the World Health Organization (WHO)''s World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. Face-to-face community surveys were conducted in seventeen countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. The combined numbers of respondents were 85,052. Lifetime prevalence, projected lifetime risk, and age of onset of DSM-IV disorders were assessed with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), a fully-structured lay administered diagnostic interview. Survival analysis was used to estimate lifetime risk. Median and inter-quartile range (IQR) of age of onset is very early for some anxiety disorders (7-14, IQR: 8-11) and impulse control disorders (7-15, IQR: 11-12). The age-of-onset distribution is later for mood disorders (29-43, IQR: 35-40), other anxiety disorders (24-50, IQR: 31-41), and substance use disorders (18-29, IQR: 21-26). Median and IQR lifetime prevalence estimates are: anxiety disorders 4.8-31.0% (IQR: 9.9-16.7%), mood disorders 3.3-21.4% (IQR: 9.8-15.8%), impulse control disorders 0.3-25.0% (IQR: 3.1-5.7%), substance use disorders 1.3-15.0% (IQR: 4.8-9.6%), and any disorder 12.0-47.4% (IQR: 18.1-36.1%). Projected lifetime risk is proportionally between 17% and 69% higher than estimated lifetime prevalence (IQR: 28-44%), with the highest ratios in countries exposed to sectarian violence (Israel, Nigeria, and South Africa), and a general tendency for projected risk to be highest in recent cohorts in all countries. These results document clearly that mental disorders are commonly occurring. As many mental disorders begin in childhood or adolescents, interventions aimed at early detection and treatment might help reduce the persistence or severity of primary disorders and prevent the subsequent onset of secondary disorders.     

Ageing and environmental factors affect PCR success in wolf (Canis lupus) excremental DNA samples

Individual genotypes determined from noninvasive DNA samples (typically extracted from shed hairs or scats) are used to estimate population size in monitoring projects of elusive species. However, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) success rates usually are lower, and genotyping errors higher than in standard population genetic surveys, due to DNA degradation or contamination in aged field samples. In this study, we evaluate the results of common garden experiments showing that DNA degradation is significant in wolf (Canis lupus) scats older than 3 days, and it is enhanced in scats in direct contact with soil. A storage test showed that samples kept frozen in 95% ethanol performed better compared to other methods. However, variance of PCR success among samples was high, independent on sample age or storage condition. The detrimental consequences of DNA degradation can be avoided by collecting scat samples as fresh as possible, and implementing efficient multitube procedures and stringent quality control of the laboratory results. Efficient multitube procedures can produce reliable data, like in this study, which showed that the consensus genotypes obtained from excremental DNA exactly matched distinct reference genotypes obtained from wolf blood samples.     

P. carinii DNA Detected by ITSs Nested PCR in Serum and PBMC of AIDS Patients with PCP

SUMMARY Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is usually diagnosed by examination of BAL, a sample often unpleasant to be collected from immunocompromised host affected by acute respiratory disease. We studied by the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITSs) nested PCR the presence of P. carinii DNA in serum and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) during acute episodes of PCP to test blood as a possible noninvasive diagnostic tool.     

Molecular analysis of the efficiency of sloughed skin sampling in whale population genetics

Sloughed whale skin contains enough DNA for genetic analysis, and offers a nonintrusive method for collecting tissue. Here, we examine the efficiency of sloughed skin sampling using 1460 samples collected from free-ranging humpback whales. Samples were sexed and screened for up to 10 microsatellite markers. The vast majority of samples appear genetically compatible with field observations. About 1% of groups revealed more genotypes than whales, but we argue that this is more likely to be due to unobserved whales than to contamination. Sloughed skin sampling is particularly effective when applied to active groups and offers a viable alternative to biopsy darting in regions where darting is either not permitted or otherwise undesirable.     

Functional morphology and paleobiology of the pliocene rodent Actenomys (Caviomorpha: Octodontidae): the evolution to a subterranean mode of life

The Pliocene caviomorph rodent Actenomys has long been recognized as an early fossorial representative of the subfamily Ctenomyinae (Octodontidae), which includes one living genus, Ctenomys (tuco-tucos), and several species widely distributed in South America. To assess the de gree of specialization for digging in Actenomys , we performed morphological comparisons with other octodontid genera (Octodon, Spalacopus , and Ctenomys) of known mode of life and behaviour. As a whole, our results indicate that, in terms of morphological specializations for digging, Actenomys occupies an intermediate position between Octodon , a generalized semi-fossorial rodent which forages above ground, and Ctenomys-Spalacopus , two highly specialized subterranean forms. The position of the deltoid process (humerus) and the length of the olecranon process (ulna)–two traits which affect the out-forces exerted by several forelimb muscles–were in Actenomys intermediate between non-subterranean and subterranean taxa. The skull, particularly the rostrum, appears to be strong, and sagittal and nuchal crests are well marked. The zygomatic arches arc as flared as those of the generalized Octodon. Notably, the upper and lower incisors of Actenomys were extremely procumbent, as in many highly-specialized chisel-tooth digging species. Based upon the stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis of the palaeosoils containing its fossil remains, we suggest that Actenomys lived in an environment of moderate to hig primary productivity. The texture of the palaeosoils indicate that theywere hard and highly cohesive. This situation, which contrasts with that observed in living Ctenomyinae, has relevant implications for burrowing cost. The integration of morphological and palaeoenvironmental data allowed testing of hypotheses about the palaeobiological attributes of this ancestral ctenomyine.     

Are neopolyploids a likely route for a transgene walk to the wild? The Aegilops ovata × Triticum turgidum durum case

Spontaneous hybridization between durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum durum ) and Aegilops ovata is regularly observed in nature. The frequency of spontaneous amphiploidy in sympatric populations was estimated at 10⁻⁶ (direct in situ observations and germinated seed collected from A. ovata plants). In nursery conditions some genotype combinations gave frequencies that were much higher at 10⁻³. Genomic in situ hybridization revealed that fertile amphiploids had arisen through unreduced gametes, and that some of them carried wheat −  A. ovata recombinant chromosomes. The frequency of production of unreduced gametes is probably genetically inherited. Amphiploids provide a route for gene flow, including that of transgenes, to the wild. Gene flow could potentially be minimized through the choice of wheat cultivars that produce a low frequency of unreduced gametes.  © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2004, 82 , 503–510.     

Biogeography of the ubiquitous marine bacterium Alteromonas macleodii determined by multilocus sequence analysis

Twenty‐three isolates of the widely distributed marine bacteria Alteromonas macleodii have been analysed by multilocus sequence analysis combined with phylogenetic and multivariate statistical analyses. The strains originated from the Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, English Channel, Black Sea and Thailand. Using the nucleotide sequences of nine loci for each of the 23 isolates, a robust identification was achieved of different clades within the single species. Strains generally clustered with the depth in the water column from which the isolate originated. Strains also showed more recombination with isolates from the same vicinity, suggesting that genetic exchange plays a role in diversification of planktonic marine prokaryotes. This study thus shows for the first time for a large set of isolates of a species of planktonic marine prokaryotes that multilocus sequence analysis overcomes the problems associated with the analysis of individual marker genes or presence of extensive recombination events. It can thus achieve intraspecific identification to the level of genotypes and, by comparison with relevant environmental data, ecotypes.     

Increased molecular divergence of two endemic Trachelipus (Isopoda,Oniscidea) species from Greece reveals patterns not congruent with current taxonomy

In the present study, we employed three mitochondrial DNA genetic markers in a phylogenetic analysis aiming at the delineation of the relationships amongst nominal Trachelipus kytherensis populations, as well as between populations of this species and of Trachelipus aegaeus and a new form, occurring syntopically with the latter. Both the phylogenetic analysis and the genetic distances separating populations, show the presence of several distinct and well differentiated clades that undermine the monophyly of T. kytherensis. On the other hand, despite the insular distribution of T. aegaeus populations, their divergence is low and the monophyly of this taxon can be rescued by the inclusion of two more insular populations previously assigned to T. kytherensis. The patterns of genetic divergence among clades are only partially congruent with the geographic distribution of populations. The validity of taxonomic characters used so far in the genus appears to be questionable; therefore, a more comprehensive phylogenetic study at a population level is deemed necessary for understanding the divergence of Trachelipus lineages. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 95 , 361–370.