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Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) was introduced as a new diagnostic entity under the category of depressive disorders in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). It was included in DSM-5 primarily to address concerns about the misdiagnosis and consequent overtreatment of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. DMDD does provide a home for a large percentage of referred children with severe persistent irritability that did not fit well into any DSM, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) diagnostic category. However, it has been a controversial addition to the DSM-5 due to lack of published validity studies, leading to questions about its validity as a distinct disorder. In this article, the authors discuss the diagnostic criteria, assessment, epidemiology, criticism of the diagnosis, and pathophysiology, as well as treatment and future directions for DMDD. They also review the literature on severe mood dysregulation, as described by the National Institute of Mental Health, as the scientific support for DMDD is based primarily on studies of severe mood dysregulation.

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Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important and widely cultivated crop in Pakistan, upon which many rely for economic security. Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) is caused by a complex comprising of more than eight species in the genus Begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) with associated betasatellite and alphasatellites. During 2011, characteristic symptoms of leaf curl disease were widespread (>40%), and the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) vector of the leaf curl complex was abundant in commercial cotton fields in Burewala, Pakistan. Symptoms included vein thickening, upward or downward leaf curling, and foliar enations. To test for the presence of a begomovirus(es), total DNA was extracted from 100 mg of symptomatic leaf tissues from five different plants (isolates CLCuDBur1 to 5) using the CTAB method (1). Total DNA extracts were used for rolling circle amplification (RCA) using TempliPhi DNA Amplification Kit (GE Healthcare). Of the five field isolates, the RCA product for only one, CLCuDBur3, digested with HindIII, produced an apparently full-length ~2.7 kb fragment, suggesting that CLCuD-Bur3 represented a distinct isolate. The 2.7-kb fragment was cloned into the plasmid vector pGEM-3Zf+ (Promega, Madison, WI). To test for the presence of associated alphasatellites and betasatellites, the PCR primers, AlphaF/R and BetaF/R (2), were used to amplify the putative 1.4-kbp molecules. The resultant 1.4-kb PCR products were ligated into the pGEMT-Easy vector and cloned. Cloned inserts for each were subjected to DNA sequencing, bidirectionally. The cloned monopartite, helper begomovirus genome (HF567945), one betasatellite (HF567946), and one alphasatellite (HF567947) sequences were determined and found to be 2,742, 1,358, and 1,376 bases long, respectively. Pairwise sequence comparisons were carried out for each using the 10 most closely related species or strains (identified in GenBank using BLASTn) using MEGA5 software. The CLCuDBur3 genome sequence shared its highest identity (99.6%) with Okra enation leaf curl virus (OELCuV) (KC019308), so CLCuDBur3 is a variant of OELCuV, a begomovirus reported previously from Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) (okra) plants in India. The betasatellite and alphasatellite shared their highest nt identity at 96 and 98.7% with Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB) (AM774311) and Cotton leaf curl Multan alphasatellite (CLCuMA), respectively (misnamed as CLCuBuA in GenBank) (FN658728). Additionally, the HindIII-digested RCA products were analyzed by Southern blot hybridization using a DIG-labeled DNA probe specific for the intergenic region of either Cotton leaf curl Burewala virus (CLCuBuV) or OELCuV. The OELCuV, but not the CLCuBuV, probe hybridized with HindIII digested RCA products (CLCuDBur3 genome), confirming the presence of OELCuV and the absence of CLCuBuV, the latter being the most prevalent begomovirus species infecting cotton in Pakistan. This is the first report of OELCuV infecting cotton plants in Pakistan, underscoring the discovery of yet another begomovirus member of the CLCuD complex. Further, the possible co-infection of cotton by OELCuV and other recognized species of the CLCuD complex could facilitate further diversification (potentially, through recombination) and lead to the emergence of new variants with the potential to cause damage to the cotton crop in Pakistan. References: (1) J. J. Doyle and J. L. Doyle. Focus. 12:13, 1990. (2) M. Zia-Ur-Rehman et al. Plant Dis. 97:1122, 2013.

Entomopathogenic fungi produces endochitianses, involved in the degradation of insect chitin to facilitate the infection process. Endochitinases ( Chit1 ) gene of family 18 glycosyl hydrolyses were amplified, cloned and characterized from genomic DNA of two isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae. Catalytic motif of family 18 glycosyl hydrolyses was found in Chit1 of M. anisopliae , while no signal peptide was found in any isolate, whereas substrate-binding motif was found in Chit1 of both isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the evolutionary relationship among the fungal chitinases of Metarhizium . The Chit1 amplified were closely related to the family 18 glycosyl hydrolyses. Transient expressions of Chit1 in cotton plants using Geminivirus-mediated gene silencing vector of Cotton Leaf Crumple Virus (CLCrV) revealed the chitinase activity of Chit1 genes amplified from both of the isolates of M. anisopliae when compared with the control. Transformed cotton plants were virulent against fourth instar nymphal and adult stages of Bemisia tabaci which resulted in the mortality of both fourth instar nymphal and adult B. tabaci. Thus, the fungal chitinases expressed in cotton plants played a vital role in plant defence against B. tabaci . However, further studies are required to explore the comparative effectiveness of chitinases from different fungal strains against economically important insect pests.

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Antidepressants are very effective in treating depression in the primary care setting and may even be an effective and efficient treatment for adjustment disorder with depressed mood.

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