Trait‐divergence assembly rules have been demonstrated: Limiting similarity lives! A reply to Grime

The recent Forum contribution by Grime (2006) contrasts the MacArthur/Diamond assembly‐rule approach to studying plant communities with the study of environmental trait gradients. Both are valid and useful. In doing so, Grime declares that the assembly rules model, in which negative interactions between plants act with limiting similarity to cause local trait divergence, is “not supported by empirical study of plant communities”. This is, he says, the agony of community ecology. I show that there is now abundant evidence for assembly rules, and no agony.     

c-fos expression in the amygdala:In vivo antisense modulation and role in anxiety

Summary 1. The amygdaloid complex is a key structure in mechanisms of fear and anxiety. Expression of the immediate-early gene c-fos has been reported in the central nucleus of the amygdala following various stressors, but the functional role of this phenomenon has remained unknown.2. c-fos expression was observed in the central nucleus when rats were subjected to a pharmacologically validated animal model of anxiety, the Vogel conflict test, but not after mere exposure to the test apparatus. Bilateral amygdala injection of a 15-mer phosphorothioate c-fos antisense oligodeoxynucleotide prior to testing blocked conflict-induced c-fos expression and had behavioral effects similar to those of established antianxiety drugs.3. Separate experiments determined that antisense treatment did not affect conflict behavior by acting on shock thresholds or drinking motivation.4. These findings provide evidence that neuronal activation and c-fos induction in the amygdala may be of importance for mechanisms of fear and anxiety.     

Symptom prescription: Inducing anxiety by 70% exhalation

This study investigates the effects of partial exhalation to feelings of anxiety. Thirty five volunteer subjects (14 male, 21 female, mean age 40.6) were first trained in slow diaphragmatic breathing (SDB). Then subjects rated their anxiety levels on a scale from 1 (none) to 5 (extreme) in sequential conditions of SDB, 70% subjective exhalation, and SDB. During the 70% subjective exhalation phase, subjects were instructed to breathe and limit their exhalation to 70% of the inhaled volume during each consecutive breath. The 70% subjective condition significantly (P<.0005) increased=" subjects'=" anxiety=" levels=" as=" compared=" to=" the=" initial=" sdb=" baseline,=" while=" a=" return=" to=" sdb=" significantly=" reduced=" the=" anxiety=" levels.=" the=" 70%=" approach=" appears=" useful=" in=" demonstrating=" to=" the=" client=" that=" possible=" changes=" in=" breathing=" patterns=" can=" affect=">We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Richard Steiner, Ph.D. for his comments and help with the statistical analysis in this article. The preliminary findings of this article were presented at the Twenty-first Annual Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback.     

肠道菌群影响脊髓损伤后焦虑情绪的研究进展

脊髓损伤作为一种严重的创伤性应激可以引发焦虑情绪,对患者心理健康造成极大影响。研究发现,脊髓损伤后肠道菌群失调与焦虑情绪的发生存在密切联系,因此本文从5-羟色胺系统失调、多巴胺系统失调、脑源性神经营养因子缺乏及炎症反应4个方面,探讨脊髓损伤后肠道菌群改变影响焦虑情绪发生的机制,为今后治疗脊髓损伤后焦虑情绪的深入研究和药物开发提供理论依据。     

乳腺癌根治术患者术前焦虑的影响因素分析及其对术后恢复、细胞免疫功能和生命质量的影响

摘要 目的：分析乳腺癌根治术患者术前焦虑的影响因素,并探讨术前焦虑对患者术后恢复、细胞免疫功能和生命质量的影响。方法：选择我院2020年3月~2021年12月期间收治的拟行乳腺癌根治术的120例患者作为研究对象,术前1 d采用焦虑自评量表（SAS）评估所有患者的焦虑状况,根据是否存在焦虑分为焦虑组和无焦虑组,乳腺癌根治术患者术前焦虑的影响因素采用多因素Logistic回归分析。对比焦虑组和无焦虑组的术后恢复、细胞免疫功能和生命质量情况。结果：120例乳腺癌根治术患者中,有31例患者无术前焦虑,89例患者存在焦虑症状,根据是否存在术前焦虑分为焦虑组（n=89）和无焦虑组（n=31）。乳腺癌根治术患者术前焦虑与年龄、文化程度、家庭人均月收入、付费方式、婚姻状况、家庭支持、既往有无全麻史、术前住院时长、定期体检有关（P<0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果表明：年龄＜60岁、文化程度为小学及其以下、家庭人均月收入＜3000元、婚姻状况为未婚、无家庭支持、既往无全麻史、术前住院时长>1 d是乳腺癌根治术患者术前焦虑的危险因素（P<0.05）。焦虑组的术后首次肛门排气时间、首次下床活动时间、术后住院时间均长于无焦虑组（P<0.05）。两组术后1个月CD3⁺、CD4⁺、CD4⁺/CD8⁺水平升高,且无焦虑组高于焦虑组（P<0.05）,两组术后1个月CD8⁺水平下降,且无焦虑组低于焦虑组（P<0.05）。两组术后1个月生理状况、情感状况、社会/家庭状况、功能状况、附加关注评分和总分下降,且无焦虑组低于焦虑组（P<0.05）。结论：乳腺癌根治术患者术前焦虑发生率较高,其发生受到年龄、文化程度、家庭人均月收入、婚姻状况、家庭支持、既往有无全麻史、术前住院时长等多种因素的影响,可导致患者术后恢复时间延长,细胞免疫功能和生命质量降低。     

Prevalence and trends of common mental disorders from 2007-2009 to 2019-2022: results from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Studies (NEMESIS), including comparison of prevalence rates before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic

Up-to-date information on the prevalence and trends of common mental disorders is relevant to health care policy and planning, owing to the high burden associated with these disorders. In the first wave of the third Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS-3), a nationally representative sample was interviewed face-to-face from November 2019 to March 2022 (6,194 subjects; 1,576 interviewed before and 4,618 during the COVID-19 pandemic; age range: 18-75 years). A slightly modified version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0 was used to assess DSM-IV and DSM-5 diagnoses. Trends in 12-month prevalence rates of DSM-IV mental disorders were examined by comparing these rates between NEMESIS-3 and NEMESIS-2 (6,646 subjects; age range: 18-64 years; interviewed from November 2007 to July 2009). Lifetime DSM-5 prevalence estimates in NEMESIS-3 were 28.6% for anxiety disorders, 27.6% for mood disorders, 16.7% for substance use disorders, and 3.6% for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Over the last 12 months, prevalence rates were 15.2%, 9.8%, 7.1%, and 3.2%, respectively. No differences in 12-month prevalence rates before vs. during the COVID-19 pandemic were found (26.7% pre-pandemic vs. 25.7% during the pandemic), even after controlling for differences in socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents interviewed in these two periods. This was the case for all four disorder categories. From 2007-2009 to 2019-2022, the 12-month prevalence rate of any DSM-IV disorder significantly increased from 17.4% to 26.1%. A stronger increase in prevalence was found for students, younger adults (18-34 years) and city dwellers. These data suggest that the prevalence of mental disorders has increased in the past decade, but this is not explained by the COVID-19 pandemic. The already high mental disorder risk of young adults has particularly further increased in recent years.     

Both facilitation and limiting similarity shape the species coexistence in dry alkali grasslands

Facilitation is an important driver of community assembly, and often overwhelms the effect of competition in stressed habitats. Thus, net effect of biotic interactions is often positive in stressed grasslands, where dominant species and litter can protect the subordinate species. Besides facilitation, niche partitioning can also support species coexistence leading to limiting similarity between subordinate species. Our aim was to provide a detailed analysis of fine-scale biotic interactions in stressed alkali grasslands. We supposed, that there are positive relationships between the main biomass fractions and species richness. We expected the expansion of trait ranges and the increase of trait dissimilarity with increasing biomass scores (total litter, green biomass of dominant species) and species richness. We studied the relationships between main biomass fractions, species richness, functional diversity and functional trait indices (ranges, weighted means and Rao indices). We used fine-scale biomass sampling in nine stands of dry alkali grasslands dominated by Festuca pseudovina. The detected relationships were always positive between the main biomass fractions (green biomass of dominant species, total litter and green biomass of subordinate species) and species richness. We found that the green biomass of dominant species and total litter increased ranges and dissimilarity of functional traits. Our results suggest that in dry alkali grasslands facilitation is crucial in shaping vegetation composition. The green biomass of dominant species and total litter increased the biomass production of subordinate species leading to overyielding. We found that mechanisms of facilitation and limiting similarity were jointly shaping the species coexistence in stressed grasslands, such as alkali grasslands.