Psychometric analysis of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ) and determinants of psychopathology in two outpatient clinics in Navarre (Spain).

Background: The self-report Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire PDSQ is designed to screen Axis I psychiatric disorders. We aim to determine its psychometric properties in Spanish outpatients and assess its relationship with two interviews (for psychopathology and for personality disorders) and clinical/demographic variables.

Methodology: We administered the study questionnaire, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus (MINI-Plus), the Standardised Assessment of Personality Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS), and the List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire (LTE-Q) to 375 patients at two public outpatient centres.

Effects of topiramate, bupropion and naltrexone isolated or combined on subcutaneous adipose tissue in obese rats.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of combining topiramate, bupropion and naltrexone in obesity-induced rats on their weight and subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Methods: A total of 40 male Wistar rats were induced to obesity for 8 weeks and the animals were divided into 8 groups: Ctr - control, G0 - Sham, G1 - oral saline solution (1.0mL/day), G2 - topiramate (20.

STUDIES OF MOLECULAR CHANGES IN INTERVERTEBRAL DISC DEGENERATION IN ANIMAL MODEL.

Objective: To evaluate the structural and molecular changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM) during the process of intervertebral disc degeneration, using animal model.

Methods: Wistar rats underwent intervertebral disc degeneration through 20-gauge needle puncture, and 360° rotation applied for 30 sec, representing the degenerated group, while control group was not submitted to this procedure. Histological parameters and expression of extracellular matrix molecules were evaluated in the 15(th) and 28(th) days after degenerative induction.

Pyrosequencing reveals changes in soil bacterial communities after conversion of Yungas forests to agriculture.

The Southern Andean Yungas in Northwest Argentina constitute one of the main biodiversity hotspots in the world. Considerable changes in land use have taken place in this ecoregion, predominantly related to forest conversion to croplands, inducing losses in above-ground biodiversity and with potential impact on soil microbial communities. In this study, we used high-throughput pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to assess whether land-use change and time under agriculture affect the composition and diversity of soil bacterial communities.

Genotypic characterization of Azotobacteria isolated from Argentinean soils and plant-growth-promoting traits of selected strains with prospects for biofertilizer production.

The genetic diversity among 31 putative Azotobacter isolates obtained from agricultural and non-agricultural soils was assessed using rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting and identified to species level by ARDRA and partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. High diversity was found among the isolates, identified as A. chroococcum, A.

Effects of glucosamine on the tibial epiphyseal disk of ovariectomized rats: morphologic and morphometric analysis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of glucosamine sulfate on the tibial epiphyseal disk of the ovariectomized rats.

Methods: After ovariectomy (OVx), 28 female rats were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups with 7 animals each, treated as follows: OVx 21 - vehicle (NaCl 0.9%) 0.