DNA barcoding for species assignment: the case of Mediterranean marine fishes.

Background: DNA barcoding enhances the prospects for species-level identifications globally using a standardized and authenticated DNA-based approach. Reference libraries comprising validated DNA barcodes (COI) constitute robust datasets for testing query sequences, providing considerable utility to identify marine fish and other organisms. Here we test the feasibility of using DNA barcoding to assign species to tissue samples from fish collected in the central Mediterranean Sea, a major contributor to the European marine ichthyofaunal diversity.

A reliable DNA barcode reference library for the identification of the North European shelf fish fauna.

Valid fish species identification is an essential step both for fundamental science and fisheries management. The traditional identification is mainly based on external morphological diagnostic characters, leading to inconsistent results in many cases. Here, we provide a sequence reference library based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) for a valid identification of 93 North Atlantic fish species originating from the North Sea and adjacent waters, including many commercially exploited species.

Genetic structure of bluefin tuna in the mediterranean sea correlates with environmental variables.

Background: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (ABFT) shows complex demography and ecological variation in the Mediterranean Sea. Genetic surveys have detected significant, although weak, signals of population structuring; catch series analyses and tagging programs identified complex ABFT spatial dynamics and migration patterns. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the genetic structure of the ABFT in the Mediterranean is correlated with mean surface temperature and salinity.

Generalized anxiety disorder: is there any specific symptom?

Objective: The main aim of the present research was to evaluate the coherence of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) psychopathological pattern, the robustness of its diagnostic criteria, and the clinical utility of considering this disorder as a discrete condition rather than assigning it a dimensional value.

Method: The study was designed in a purely naturalistic setting and carried out using a community sample; data from the Sesto Fiorentino Study were reanalyzed.

Results: Of the 105 subjects who satisfied the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for the diagnosis of GAD, only 18 (17.

A ranking system for reference libraries of DNA barcodes: application to marine fish species from Portugal.

Background: The increasing availability of reference libraries of DNA barcodes (RLDB) offers the opportunity to the screen the level of consistency in DNA barcode data among libraries, in order to detect possible disagreements generated from taxonomic uncertainty or operational shortcomings. We propose a ranking system to attribute a confidence level to species identifications associated with DNA barcode records from a RLDB. Here we apply the proposed ranking system to a newly generated RLDB for marine fish of Portugal.

Are Psychiatric Diagnoses an Obstacle for Research and Practice? Reliability, Validity and the Problem of Psychiatric Diagnoses. The Case of GAD.

The present article focused on the problem of validity, reliability and specificity of psychiatric diagnoses.The authors moved by the concept of syndrome, defined by Sydenham in the 18th century as a constellation of several interrelated symptoms, showing a stable, characteristic structure and a peculiar prognosis, in order to analyse the peculiarity of the current psychiatric nosology. In our opinion, the current nosographic system based on DSM-IV criteria, prevents psychiatry from benefiting of the significant technological progress that has led the rest of medical sciences to important clinical achievements in the last 20 years.

Identifying Fishes through DNA Barcodes and Microarrays.

Background: International fish trade reached an import value of 62.8 billion Euro in 2006, of which 44.6% are covered by the European Union.

Spatio-temporal population structuring and genetic diversity retention in depleted Atlantic bluefin tuna of the Mediterranean Sea.

Fishery genetics have greatly changed our understanding of population dynamics and structuring in marine fish. In this study, we show that the Atlantic Bluefin tuna (ABFT, Thunnus thynnus), an oceanic predatory species exhibiting highly migratory behavior, large population size, and high potential for dispersal during early life stages, displays significant genetic differences over space and time, both at the fine and large scales of variation. We compared microsatellite variation of contemporary (n = 256) and historical (n = 99) biological samples of ABFTs of the central-western Mediterranean Sea, the latter dating back to the early 20th century.

Postural improvement using core integration to lengthen myofascia.

Postural organization is controlled by the central nervous system in conjunction with the skeletal, muscular, and fascial systems. This paper explores the effects on static and dynamic postural misalignment of a neuromotor re-education intervention. In total, 13 control and 14 experimental subjects with postural deviations were studied.