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Research has been conducted on the ecology of several bacterial species. The study has been carried out in determining whether the species abundance could be related to seasonality, and the results are reported.

Research has been conducted on bacteria of gamma-subclass Proteobacteria. The hypotheses that these bacteria are assiociated with zooplankton in the environment and that the composition of zooplankton-associated bacterial communities is the sane or different from that of water column have been tested, and the results are reported.

The Aquificales are widespread in marine and terrestrial hydrothermal environments. Here, we report the complete and draft genome sequences of six new members of the Aquificales: two marine species, Persephonella marina strain EX-H1 and Hydrogenivirga strain 128-5-R1 (from the East Pacific Rise, 9[degrees]50.3'N, 104[degrees]17.5'W, and the Eastern Lau Spreading Center, 176[degrees]11.5'W, 20[degrees]45.8'S, respectively), and four terrestrial isolates, Sulfurihydrogenibium azorense strain Az-Fu1, Sulfurihydrogenibium yellowstonense strain SS-5, and Sulfurihydrogenibium strain Y03AOP1 (from Furnas, Azores, Portugal, and Calcite Springs and Obsidian Pool in Yellowstone National Park, United States, respectively), and the only thermoacidophilic isolate, Hydrogenobaculum strain Y04AAS1 (from a stream adjacent to Obsidian Pool). Significant differences among the different species exist that include nitrogen metabolism, hydrogen utilization, chemotaxis, and signal transduction, providing insights into their ecological niche adaptations.

A microbial species concept is crucial for interpreting the variation detected by genomics and environmental genomics among cultivated microorganisms and within natural microbial populations. Comparative genomic analyses of prokaryotic species as they are presently described and named have led to the provocative idea that prokaryotes may not form species as we think about them for plants and animals. There are good reasons to doubt whether presently recognized prokaryotic species are truly species. To achieve a better understanding of microbial species, we believe it is necessary to (i) re-evaluate traditional approaches in light of evolutionary and ecological theory, (ii) consider that different microbial species may have evolved in different ways and (iii) integrate genomic, metagenomic and genome-wide expression approaches with ecological and evolutionary theory. Here, we outline how we are using genomic methods to (i) identify ecologically distinct populations (ecotypes) predicted by theory to be species-like fundamental units of microbial communities, and (ii) test their species-like character through in situ distribution and gene expression studies. By comparing metagenomic sequences obtained from well-studied hot spring cyanobacterial mats with genomic sequences of two cultivated cyanobacterial ecotypes, closely related to predominant native populations, we can conduct in situ population genetics studies that identify putative ecotypes and functional genes that determine the ecotypes' ecological distinctness. If individuals within microbial communities are found to be grouped into ecologically distinct, species-like populations, knowing about such populations should guide us to a better understanding of how genomic variation is linked to community function.Heredity (2008) 100, 207–219; doi:10.1038/sj.hdy.6801011; published online 6 June 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete genome sequence of Geobacter sulfurreducens, a δ-proteobacterium, reveals unsuspected capabilities, including evidence of aerobic metabolism, one-carbon and complex carbon metabolism, motility, and chemotactic behavior. These characteristics, coupled with the possession of many two-component sensors and many c-type cytochromes, reveal an ability to create alternative, redundant, electron transport networks and offer insights into the process of metal ion reduction in subsurface environments. As well as playing roles in the global cycling of metals and carbon, this organism clearly has the potential for use in bioremediation of radioactive metals and in the generation of electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addiction is a chronic and severe mental disorder with high gender- and sex-specificity. However, the pathogenesis of this disorder is not fully elucidated, and no targeted pharmacotherapy is available. A growing body of evidence points out the potential involvement of the ceramide system in the pathophysiology of addiction. A pathogenic pathway for several mental disorders based on the overexpression of an enzyme involved in ceramide formation, acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), was recently proposed. Here we show a crucial role of ASM specifically overexpressing in the forebrain for various types of addiction-related behaviours in a drug- and sex-specific way. In male mice, a forebrain ASM overexpression led to enhanced alcohol consumption in a free-choice paradigm. It also diminished the reinforcing properties of alcohol and cocaine, but not that of amphetamine, ketamine, or a natural reinforcer fat/carbohydrate-rich food in the conditioned place preference (CPP) test in males. In female mice, a forebrain ASM overexpression enhanced alcohol binge-like drinking, while moderate alcohol consumption was preserved. ASM overexpression in females contributed to CPP establishment for amphetamine, but not for other psychoactive substances. Altogether, this study shows a specific involvement of forebrain ASM in the development of conditioned reinforcing effects of different types of substances with addictive properties in a sex-specific way. Our data enlarge the current knowledge on the specific molecular mechanisms of dependence from various drugs of abuse and might serve as a basis for the development of drug- and sex-specific targeted therapy., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Informal care estimates for use in health-economic models are lacking. We aimed to estimate the association between informal care time and dementia symptoms across Europe., Methods: A secondary analysis was performed on 13,529 observations in 5,369 persons from 9 European pooled cohort or trial studies in community-dwelling persons with dementia. A mixed regression model was fitted to time spent on instrumental or basic activities of daily living using disease severity and demographic characteristics., Results: Daily informal care time was 0.5 hours higher in moderate compared to mild and 1.3h higher in severe compared to mild cognitive impairment. Likewise, this was 1.2h and 2.7h for functional disability and 0.3h and 0.6h for behavioral symptoms in the same directions., Discussion: Estimates can be used in both single- and multi-domain health-economic models for dementia in European settings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest AS No conflict of interest. BW – no conflict of interest. CB received outside this study research grants from ZonMw, Alzheimer Nederland/Dutch Alzheimer Society and Gieskes Strijbis fund. He is board member of the Dutch Young-onset Dementia Knowledge Center and member of the IPA YOD shared interest forum and member INTERDEM and its YOD Taskforce (all unpaid). CGP: No conflict of interest (IQVIA did not give any authorization or funding for this work – as shared data set was not its property and as it was used for research CGP led before integrating IQVIA). GS have participated, outside this study, at advisory boards for Eisai and Roche, regarding monoclonal antibody drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. LF – received research grants unrelated to this work from Hoffmann-LaRoche. Received case honoraria for clinical trials paid to the institution from Axon Neuroscience, Anavex, Alector, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eisai, Hummingbird, NovoNordisk, Noselab; Consulting fees unrelated to this work from Biogen, BioVie, Eisai, Eli Lilly, FOMF, Araclon/Grifols, Janssen Cilag, Medical Tribune, Medfora, Neurimmune, Noselab, NovoNordisk, Roche, TauRX, Schwabe, StreamUp; Honoraria for Clinical study committees from Avanir/Otsuka, PharmatrophiX, Charité Berlin, Neuroscios, Vivoryon. LJ received research grants unrelated to this work from Vinnova, Innovative Health Initiative, Forte and Novo Nordisk A/S. Consulting fees unrelated to this work from H. Lundbeck A/S, Janssen, Eli Lilly Inc, and license fees for the RUD instrument. LS: has no competing interest related to the topic of this paper. OR: No potential conflict of interest to declare. RH received outside this study consulting fees in the past 36 months from Lilly Nederland and from the Institute for Medical Technology Assessment (paid to institution). RK received outside this study research grants from ZonMw, Dutch Alzheimer Society and Gieskes Strijbis fund. He is board member of the International Psychogeriatric Association, member of the IPA YOD shared interest forum and member INTERDEM and its YOD Taskforce and taskforce palliative care (all unpaid). SH – no conflict of interest. YP has no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Background Interpersonal dysfunction is a core symptom of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and may be closely linked to adverse childhood experiences. According to a recent model on the pathology of BPD, the neuropeptide oxytocin might play an important role in the development and maintenance of the disorder. However, so far, only few studies with small adult samples have reported reduced baseline oxytocin levels in BPD that may be linked to adverse childhood experiences. Methods We examined baseline plasma oxytocin levels in 131 female patients with BPD and 124 non-BPD female controls across a large age span (12-50 years). Additionally, 113 female patients with less than five DSM-IV BPD features were included to examine the association between plasma oxytocin levels and the number of fulfilled BPD criteria. We also explored associations between plasma oxytocin and adverse childhood experiences as well as depressive symptoms in BPD. Results Patients with BPD had reduced plasma oxytocin levels compared to non-BPD controls and this was independent of age. Plasma oxytocin was negatively associated with the number of fulfilled BPD criteria. The exploratory regression model revealed no association between plasma oxytocin and depressive symptoms but an association between plasma oxytocin and adverse childhood experiences, which in fact mediated the relationship between BPD criteria und plasma oxytocin. Conclusion In a large sample of individuals with BPD across a large age span, our results replicate and extend previous reports of reduced plasma oxytocin levels that might be related to adverse childhood experiences thus providing further evidence for a prominent role of oxytocin in BPD., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Nonstimulants have an important role when response or tolerability to psychostimulants is poor, when certain comorbid disorders are present, or if patients prefer nonstimulants. Here, we discuss monotherapy and combined treatment of ADHD and review mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, efficacy, tolerability, and safety of approved, off-label, and pipeline nonstimulants. We present detailed information regarding the 4 FDA-approved nonstimulant medications-the norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, atomoxetine and viloxazine extended release, and the α-2 adrenergic agonists, clonidine XR and guanfacine XR. We additionally review evidence regarding the off-label use of a variety of other medications. Variability across and within drug classes in nature of response, approach to titration, and temporal characteristics of treatment allow a nuanced treatment approach for individuals with comorbid disorders and complicated clinical presentations. Availability of nonstimulant medications enhances our opportunity to offer personalized treatment of ADHD across the lifespan., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The closely connected anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and superior temporal cortex (STC) are important for higher cognitive functions. Both brain regions are disturbed in schizophrenia, i.e., functional and structural alterations have been reported. This postmortem investigation in brains from patients with schizophrenia and controls compared gene expression in the left ACC and left STC. Most differentially expressed genes were unique to each brain region, but some clusters of genes were equally dysregulated in both, giving rise to a more general disease-specific pattern of gene regulation. The data was used to construct a molecular network of the genes identically expressed in both regions as primary nodes and the metabolically connected genes as secondary nodes. The network analysis identified downregulated clusters of immune-associated gene products and upregulated clusters belonging to the ubiquitin-proteasome system. These findings could help to identify new potential therapeutic targets for future approaches., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that they have no actual or potential conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Low recruitment in clinical trials is a common and costly problem which undermines medical research. This study aimed to investigate the challenges faced in recruiting children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorder for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial and to analyze reasons for non-participation. The trial was part of the EU FP7 project TACTICS (Translational Adolescent and Childhood Therapeutic Interventions in Compulsive Syndromes)., Methods: Demographic data on pre-screening patients were collected systematically, including documented reasons for non-participation. Findings were grouped according to content, and descriptive statistical analyses of the data were performed., Results: In total, n = 173 patients were pre-screened for potential participation in the clinical trial. Of these, only five (2.9%) were eventually enrolled. The main reasons for non-inclusion were as follows: failure to meet all inclusion criteria/meeting one or more of the exclusion criteria (n = 73; 42.2%), no interest in the trial or trials in general (n = 40; 23.1%), and not wanting changes to current therapy/medication (n = 14; 8.1%)., Conclusions: The findings from this study add valuable information to the existing knowledge on reasons for low clinical trial recruitment rates in pediatric psychiatric populations. Low enrollment and high exclusion rates raise the question of whether such selective study populations are representative of clinical patient cohorts. Consequently, the generalizability of the results of such trials may be limited. The present findings will be useful in the development of improved recruitment strategies and may guide future research in establishing the measurement of representativeness to ensure enhanced external validity in psychopharmacological clinical trials in pediatric populations., Trial Registration: EudraCT 2014-003080-38 . Registered on 14 July 2014.

The objective of this study is to assess internalized stigma, perceived public stigma, anticipated discrimination and their associations with demographic, psychiatric and psychosocial characteristics in adult ADHD. Stigmatization was assessed with the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale, the Questionnaire on Anticipated Discrimination and the Questionnaire on Public Stereotypes Perceived by Adults with ADHD. The sample comprised n = 104 adults with ADHD, of whom n = 24 (23.3%) reported high internalized stigma, n = 92 (88.5%) anticipated discrimination in daily life and n = 70 (69.3%) perceived public stigma. Internalized stigma and/or anticipated discrimination correlated with ADHD symptoms, psychological distress, self-esteem, functional impairment and quality of life and was associated with ADHD family history and employment status. Most frequently perceived stereotypes were doubts about the validity of ADHD as a mental disorder. Internalized stigma and anticipated discrimination are highly prevalent in adult ADHD and correlate with the burden of disease. ADHD is associated with characteristic public stereotypes, which are distinct from stereotypes related to other mental disorders. Stigmatization should be considered in the clinical management of adult ADHD and evaluated further in future studies.