A thermoelastic system of memory type in noncylindrical domains

In this paper, we consider a hyperbolic thermoelastic system of memory type in domains with moving boundary. The problem models vibrations of an elastic bar under thermal effects according to the heat conduction law of Gurtin and Pipkin. Global existence is proved by using the penalty method of Lions. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Method of symptom assessment influences cognitive, affective and somatic post-concussion-like symptom base rates

Primary objective: To investigate whether assessment method influences the type of post-concussion-like symptoms. Methods and procedures: Participants were 73 Australian undergraduate students (Mage = 24.14, SD = 8.84; 75.3% female) with no history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Participants reported symptoms experienced over the previous 2 weeks in response to an open-ended question (free report), mock interview and standardized checklist (British Columbia Post-concussion Symptom Inventory; BC-PSI). Main outcomes and results: In the free report and checklist conditions, cognitive symptoms were reported significantly less frequently than affective (free report: p < 0.001; checklist: p < 0.001) or somatic symptoms (free report: p < 0.001; checklist: p = 0.004). However, in the mock structured interview condition, cognitive and somatic symptoms were reported significantly less frequently than affective symptoms (both p < 0.001). No participants reported at least one symptom from all three domains when assessed by free report, whereas most participants did so when symptoms were assessed by a mock structured interview (75%) or checklist (90%). Conclusions: Previous studies have shown that the method used to assess symptoms affects the number reported. This study shows that the assessment method also affects the type of reported symptoms.

Archaea in the Mycorrhizosphere of Boreal Forest Trees

Archaea were long thought to be a group of ancient bacteria, which mainly lived in extreme environments. Due to the development of DNA sequencing methods and molecular phylogenetic analyses, it was shown that the living organisms are in fact divided into three domains; the Archaea, Bacteria and the Eucarya. Since the beginning of the previous decade, it was shown that archaea generally inhabit moderate environments and that these non-extremophilic archaea are more ubiquitous than the extremophiles. Group 1 of non-extreme archaea affiliate with the phylum Crenarchaeota. The most commonly found soil archaea belong to the subgroup 1.1b. However, the Crenarchaeota found in the Fennoscandian boreal forest soil belong to the subgroup 1.1c. The organic top layer of the boreal forest soil, the humus, is dominated by ectomycorrhizal fungal hyphae. These colonise virtually all tree fine root tips in the humus layer and have been shown to harbour distinct bacterial populations different from those in the humus. The archaea have also been shown to colonise both boreal forest humus and the rhizospheres of plants. In this work, studies on the archaeal communities in the ectomycorrhizospheres of boreal forest trees were conducted in microcosms. Archaea belonging to the group 1.1c Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota of the genera Halobacterium and Methanolobus were detected. The archaea generally colonised fungal habitats, such as ectomycorrhizas and external mycelia, rather than the non-mycorrhizal fine roots of trees. The species of ectomycorrhizal fungus had a great impact on the archaeal community composition. A stable euryarchaeotal community was detected especially in the mycorrhizas, of most of the tested Scots pine colonising ectomycorrhizal fungi. The Crenarchaeota appeared more sporadically in these habitats, but had a greater diversity than the Euryarchaeota. P. involutus mycorrhizas had a higher diversity of 1.1c Crenarchaeota than the other ectomycorrhizal fungi. The detection level of archaea in the roots of boreal trees was generally low although archaea have been shown to associate with roots of different plants. However, alder showed a high diversity of 1.1c Crenarchaeota, exceeding that of any of the tested mycorrhizas. The archaeal 16S rRNA genes detected from the non-mycorrhizal roots were different from those of the P. involutus mycorrhizas. In the phylogenetic analyses, the archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from non-mycorrhizal fine roots fell in a separate cluster within the group 1.1c Crenarchaeota than those from the mycorrhizas. When the roots of the differrent tree species were colonised by P. involutus, the diversity and frequency of the archaeal populations of the different tree species were more similar to each other. Both Cren- and Euryarchaeota were enriched in cultures to which C-1 substrates were added. The 1.1c Crenarchaeota grew anaerobically in mineral medium with CH4 and CO2 as the only available C sources, and in yeast extract media with CO2 and CH4 or H2. The crenarchaeotal diversity was higher in aerobic cultures on mineral medium with CH4 or CH3OH than in the anaerobic cultures. Ecological functions of the mycorrhizal 1.1c Crenarchaeota in both anaerobic and aerobic cycling of C-1 compounds were indicated. The phylogenetic analyses did not divide the detected Crenarchaeota into anaerobic and aerobic groups. This may suggest that the mycorrhizospheric crenarchaeotal communities consist of closely related groups of anaerobic and aerobic 1.1c Crenarchaeota, or the 1.1c Crenarchaeota may be facultatively anaerobic. Halobacteria were enriched in non-saline anaerobic yeast extract medium cultures in which CH4 was either added or produced, but were not detected in the aerobic cultures. They may potentially be involved in anaerobic CH4 cycling in ectomycorrhizas. The CH4 production of the mycorrhizal samples was over 10 times higher than for humus devoid of mycorrhizal hyphae, indicating a high CH4 production potential of the mycorrhizal metanogenic community. Autofluorescent methanogenic archaea were detected by microscopy and 16S rRNA gene sequences of the genus Methanolobus were obtained. The archaeal community depended on both tree species and the type of ectomycorrhizal fungus colonising the roots and the Cren- and Euryarchaeota may have different ecological functions in the different parts of the boreal forest tree rhizosphere and mycorrhizosphere. By employing the results of this study, it may be possible to isolate both 1.1c Crenarchaeota as well as non-halophilic halobacteria and aerotolerant methanogens from mycorrhizospheres. These archaea may be used as indicators for change in the boreal forest soil ecosystem due to different factors, such as exploitations of forests and the rise in global temperature. More information about the microbial populations with apparently low cell numbers but significant ecological impacts, such as the boreal forest soil methanogens, may be of crucial importance to counteract human impacts on such globally important ecosystems as the boreal forests.

Effects of Lorentz local field correction on propagation properties of few-cycle pulse in dense Λ-type atomic medium

By solving numerically the full Maxwell-Bloch equations without the slowly varying envelope approximation and the rotating-wave approximation, we investigate the effects of Lorentz local field correction (LFC) on the propagation properties of few-cycle laser pulse in a dense A-type three-level atomic medium. We find that: when the area of the input pulse is larger, split of pulse occurs and the number of the sub-pulses with LFC is larger than that without LFC; at the same distance, the time interval between the first sub-pulse and the second sub-pulse in the case without LFC is longer than that with LFC, the time of pulse appearing in the case without LFC is later than that in the case with LFC, and the two phenomena are more obvious with propagation distance increasing; time evolution rules of the populations of levels vertical bar 1 >, vertical bar 2 > and vertical bar 3 > in the two cases with and without LFC are much different. When the area of the input pulse is smaller, effects of LFC on time evolutions of the pulse and populations are remarkably smaller than those in the case of larger area pulse. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phase control of gain and dispersion in an open V-type system

The control role of the relative phase between the probe and driving fields on gain, dispersion and populations in an open V-type three-level system with spontaneously generated coherence is studied. The result shows that by adjusting the value of the relative phase, the transformation between lasing with inversion and lasing without inversion (LWI) can be realized and high dispersion (refractive index) without absorption can be obtained. The shape and value range of the dispersion curve are similar to those of the gain curve, and this similarity is closely related to the relative phase. The effects of the atomic exit and injection rates and the incoherent pump rate on the control role of the relative phase are also analysed. It is found easier to get LWI by adjusting the value of the relative phase using the open system rather than the closed system, and using an incoherent pump rather than without using the incoherent pump. Moreover the open system can give a larger LWI gain than the closed system.

ExoU, uma proteína do sistema de secreção do tipo III de Pseudomonas aeruginosa, induz a secreção de eicosanóides por células epiteliais respiratórias. Papel dos corpúsculos lipídicos neste processo

Para pesquisar o papel de ExoU no desencadeamento de resposta inflamatória nas vias aéreas, células epiteliais respiratórias humanas (CERs) da linhagem BEAS-2B foram tratadas com AA radiomarcado e infectadas com a cepa PA103 de P. aeruginosa, que secreta ExoU, e com os mutantes PA103exoU (com deleção do gene exoU), PA103ΔUT/exoU (com deleção de exoU e complementação com o gene funcional) e PA103UT/S142A (com deleção de exoU e complementação com gene com mutagênese sítio-específica no domínio catalítico da enzima). Após 1 hora, a liberação de AA pelas culturas infectadas com as cepas produtoras de ExoU foi significativamente superior à observada em culturas infectadas pelas cepas não-produtoras ou por células controle. O tratamento das bactérias com MAFP, um inibidor de PLA2, resultou em significativa redução na liberação de AA. Células infectadas pelas cepas PA103 e PA103ΔUT/exoU secretaram PGE2 e LTB4 em concentrações significativamente maiores que as secretadas por células infectadas pelas demais cepas ou não infectadas. O tratamento com o MAFP reduziu significativamente a secreção de PGE2. A análise, por citometria de fluxo, de células infectadas e não infectadas tratadas com anticorpo anti-COX-2 mostrou que o percentual de células infectadas por PA103 marcadas foi significativamente superior ao percentual encontrado em culturas controle. Nenhuma diferença foi observada quanto ao percentual de células marcadas em culturas infectadas por PA103ΔexoU. O tratamento das culturas com NS-398 (um inibidor seletivo de COX-2) resultou na diminuição significativa da concentração de PGE2, secretada por células infectadas com PA103, mas não por células infectadas com PA103ΔexoU ou por células controle. Corpúsculos lipídicos (CLs) são domínios citoplasmáticos ricos em COX-2 e outras enzimas responsáveis pelo metabolismo do AA, sede da produção de eicosanóides. Como células infectadas pelas cepas produtoras de ExoU liberam AA livre, formulamos a hipótese de que a maior produção de eicosanóides por estas células seria dependente da indução do aumento no número dos CLs. No entanto, a análise por citometria de fluxo de células tratadas com uma sonda lipofílica com afinidade com os CLs mostrou que o percentual de células marcadas em culturas infectadas pelas cepas produtoras de ExoU foi significativamente inferior ao percentual em culturas controle ou infectadas pelas outras 2 cepas bacterianas. O tratamento das células com MAFP inibiu significativamente a redução do percentual de células contendo CLs. A análise, por citometria de fluxo, de células controle ou infectadas tratadas simultaneamente com a sonda lipofílica e com o anticorpo anti-PGE2, mostrou, em células infectadas com PA103, a redução da mediana da intensidade de marcação com a sonda lipofílica e o aumento da mediana da intensidade de marcação com o anticorpo anti-PGE2. Nossa hipótese é que a presença de ExoU nas células infectadas com a cepa PA103 resulte no metabolismo de glicerofosfolipídios presente nos CLs levando à diminuição da afinidade dos CLs pela sonda lipofílica e à síntese local de PGE2.

The bacterial cytoskeleton modulates motility, type 3 secretion, and colonization in Salmonella.

Although there have been great advances in our understanding of the bacterial cytoskeleton, major gaps remain in our knowledge of its importance to virulence. In this study we have explored the contribution of the bacterial cytoskeleton to the ability of Salmonella to express and assemble virulence factors and cause disease. The bacterial actin-like protein MreB polymerises into helical filaments and interacts with other cytoskeletal elements including MreC to control cell-shape. As mreB appears to be an essential gene, we have constructed a viable ΔmreC depletion mutant in Salmonella. Using a broad range of independent biochemical, fluorescence and phenotypic screens we provide evidence that the Salmonella pathogenicity island-1 type three secretion system (SPI1-T3SS) and flagella systems are down-regulated in the absence of MreC. In contrast the SPI-2 T3SS appears to remain functional. The phenotypes have been further validated using a chemical genetic approach to disrupt the functionality of MreB. Although the fitness of ΔmreC is reduced in vivo, we observed that this defect does not completely abrogate the ability of Salmonella to cause disease systemically. By forcing on expression of flagella and SPI-1 T3SS in trans with the master regulators FlhDC and HilA, it is clear that the cytoskeleton is dispensable for the assembly of these structures but essential for their expression. As two-component systems are involved in sensing and adapting to environmental and cell surface signals, we have constructed and screened a panel of such mutants and identified the sensor kinase RcsC as a key phenotypic regulator in ΔmreC. Further genetic analysis revealed the importance of the Rcs two-component system in modulating the expression of these virulence factors. Collectively, these results suggest that expression of virulence genes might be directly coordinated with cytoskeletal integrity, and this regulation is mediated by the two-component system sensor kinase RcsC.

Cystathionine beta-synthase variants : identification, characterization and modulation by thiol compounds

Tese de doutoramento, Farmácia (Bioquímica), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2014

Les gènes et protéines BSP chez la souris et l’humain : clonage, caractérisation, expression sous forme recombinante et étude des fonctions biologiques

L’infertilité affecte environ 15% des couples en âge de se reproduire. Dans près de la moitié des cas, des facteurs masculins sont à la base de l’infertilité, quoique les causes exactes demeurent souvent inconnues. Les spermatozoïdes de mammifères subissent une série d’étapes de maturation avant d’acquérir la capacité de féconder un ovocyte. Les premiers changements ont lieu à l’intérieur de l’épididyme, où les spermatozoïdes gagnent la capacité de se mouvoir ainsi que de reconnaître et d’interagir avec l’ovocyte. Suite à l’éjaculation, ils doivent subir une seconde série de modifications à l’intérieur du tractus génital femelle, nommée capacitation. Nous avons préalablement démontré que chez le bovin, la famille de protéines BSP (Binder of SPerm) est essentielle à la capacitation. Des homologues des BSP ont aussi été isolés du fluide séminal de porc, de bouc, de bélier, de bison et d’étalon. Malgré la détection d’antigènes apparentés aux BSP dans le fluide séminal de souris et d’humain, les homologues des BSP n’ont jamais été caractérisés chez ces espèces. Nous avons émis l’hypothèse que des homologues des BSP seraient exprimés chez la souris et l’humain et joueraient un rôle dans la maturation des spermatozoïdes. Nous avons démontré que des séquences homologues aux BSP sont présentes dans les génomes murin et humain. Le génome murin contient trois séquences; Bsph1, Bsph2a et Bsph2b, tandis qu’une seule séquence (BSPH1) a été identifée chez l’humain. Les séquences d’ADNc de Bsph1, Bsph2a et BSPH1 ont été clonées, tandis que Bsph2b serait probablement un pseudogène. Les trois gènes sont exprimés uniquement dans l’épididyme et font partie d’une sous-famille distincte à l’intérieur de la famille des BSP. Chez les ongulés, les BSP sont exprimées par les vésicules séminales, sont ajoutées aux spermatozoïdes lors de l’éjaculation et représentent une proportion significative des protéines du plasma séminal. Au contraire, les BSP épididymaires ne sont retrouvées qu’en faibles quantités dans le fluide séminal. L’étude de leur rôle dans les fonctions spermatiques était donc plus difficile que chez les ongulés, où l’isolement des protéines natives du plasma séminal à l’aide de techniques de chromatographie était possible. Afin d’étudier sa fonction, nous avons exprimé BSPH1 recombinante dans E. coli. Les ponts disulfure des domaines de type-II caractéristiques de ces protéines ont fait en sorte que l’expression de BSPH1 fusionnée à une étiquette hexahistidine ou glutathion-S-transférase a donné lieu à des protéines insolubles dans les corps d’inclusion. La production de BSPH1 soluble a été possible grâce à l’ajout d’une étiquette thiorédoxine et l’expression dans une souche au cytoplasme oxidatif. BSPH1 a été purifiée par affinité et sa liaison aux partenaires connus des BSP, la phosphatidylcholine, les lipoprotéines de faible densité et la membrane des spermatozoïdes, suggérait que la protéine recombinante possédait sa conformation native et pouvait être utilisée pour des essais fonctionnels. La forme native de BSPH1 a été détectée dans le plasma séminal humain suite au fractionnement par gel filtration. La liaison de BSPH1 native à une colonne d’affinité à l’héparine a indiqué qu’elle partage aussi cette propriété de liaison avec la famille des BSP, et pourrait lier les GAGs semblables à l’héparine du tractus génital féminin. Une colonne d’immunoaffinité anti-BSPH1 a été préparée à l’aide d’anticorps générés contre des protéines recombinantes, et a permis d’isoler BSPH1 native à partir d’extraits de spermatozoïdes humains. Nos résultats montrent que BSPH1 native serait localisée dans les microdomaines « rafts » de la membrane. Sa masse moléculaire apparente était de 32 kDa, ce qui est supérieur à la masse prédite selon sa séquence en acides aminés, indiquant la présence probable de modifications post-traductionnelles, ou d’une migration anormale. L’effet de BSPH1 recombinante et des anticorps anti-BSPH1 sur la motilité, la viabilité et la capacitation a aussi été étudié. Les deux dernières variables ont été mesurées par un essai de cytométrie en flux, optimisé dans cette étude. Aucun effet des protéines recombinantes ou des anticorps sur la motilité et la viabilité des spermatozoïdes n’a été noté. Quoiqu’une stimulation modeste, quoique significative, de la capacitation ait été observée à la plus faible concentration de BSPH1, les concentrations plus élevées n’ont pas montré d’effet. De la même manière, les anticorps anti-BSPH1 n’ont pas eu d’effet significatif sur la capacitation. Ces résultats suggèrent que BSPH1 produite dans E. coli n’affecte pas la capacitation de façon marquée. Cependant, puisque BSPH1 native possède probablement des modifications post-traductionnelles, une protéine recombinante produite dans des cellules de mammifères pourrait affecter les fonctions spermatiques. De manière alternative, les BSP épididymaires remplissent peut-être un rôle différent dans les fonctions spermatiques que celles sécrétées par les vésicules séminales des ongulés. Les résultats décrits dans cette thèse pourraient contribuer à améliorer le diagnostic de l’infertilité masculine, ainsi que les techniques de reproduction assistée et éventuellement, pourraient mener au développement de contraceptifs masculins.

Étude in vivo de la relation entre la structure et la fonction de la boucle variable de l'ARN de transfert de la sélénocystéine d'E. coli

La sélénocystéine est le 21e acide aminé encodé génétiquement et on la retrouve à travers les trois domaines de la vie. Elle est synthétisée sur l'ARNtSec par un processus unique. L'ARNtSec se distingue également au niveau structural. La tige acceptrice possède 8 (procaryotes) et 9 (eucaryotes) paires de bases, contrairement aux ARNt canoniques qui ont invariablement 7 paires de bases dans la tige acceptrice. De plus, la tige D a 2 paires de bases additionnelles qui remplacent les interactions tertiaires universelles 8-14, 15-48 qui sont absentes chez l'ARNtSec. D'autre part, la longueur de la boucle variable de l'ARNtSec est plus longue que la majorité des ARNt de type II. Dans ce mémoire, on se concentre sur la région de la boucle variable de l'ARNtSec . La recherche consiste à distinguer les paires de bases de la boucle variable qui sont essentielles à la biosynthèse et l’insertion de la sélénocystéine. De plus, on regarde si la paire de base additionnelle de la tige acceptrice de l'ARNtSec (procaryote) est essentielle pour l'insertion de la sélénocystéine. Pour répondre à ces questions, on a utilisé l'approche expérimentale Évolution Instantanée qui consiste au criblage in vivo d'ARNtSec fonctionnels chez E. coli. Dans ce travail, on montre que l'insertion de la sélénocystéine ne nécessite pas une spécificité de la longueur ou de la séquence de l'ARNtSec. On montre aussi que ni la longueur de la tige acceptrice ou du domaine tige acceptrice/tige T n'est essentielle pour avoir un ARNtSec fonctionnel.

Mapping CD55 function: the structure of two pathogen-binding domains at 1.7 A

Decay-accelerating factor (CD55), a regulator of the alternative and classical pathways of complement activation, is expressed on all serum-exposed cells. It is used by pathogens, including many enteroviruses and uropathogenic Escherichia coli, as a receptor prior to infection. We describe the x-ray structure of a pathogen-binding fragment of human CD55 at 1.7 A resolution containing two of the three domains required for regulation of human complement. We have used mutagenesis to map biological functions onto the molecule; decay-accelerating activity maps to a single face of the molecule, whereas bacterial and viral pathogens recognize a variety of different sites on CD55.

The correlates of preschoolers' compliance with screen recommendations exist across multiple domains

Objective:
To investigate the individual, social and physical environment correlates of preschool children's compliance with Australian/Canadian and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) screen recommendations.

Method:
An Ecological Model (EM) was used to identify constructs potentially associated with children's screen time. In 2008–2009, parents in Melbourne, Australia, reported their child's screen time and on a range of potential correlates. Children (n = 935; 54% boys, mean age 4.54 ± 0.70 years) were assessed as meeting or not meeting each of the screen recommendations. Logistic regression assessed bivariable and multivariable associations.

Results:
In total, 15 explanatory variables, across the three domains of the EM were associated with boys' and/or girls' compliance with either Australian/Canadian or AAP recommendations. Correlates varied by sex and recommendation. Maternal television viewing time was the only consistent correlate for both boys' and girls' compliance with both recommendations. No demographic groups were identified as being less likely to comply with screen recommendations.

Conclusion:
Public health programs should take account of the sex-specific nature of correlates of preschool children's screen time. Preschool children across all demographic groups need support to engage in less screen use. Parents may benefit from education and parenting skills to minimize potentially harmful effects of excessive screen time for their child.

Relativistic three-body model for final state interaction in D+ → K-π+π+ decay

A challenge in mesonic three-body decays of heavy mesons is to quantify the contribution of re-scattering between the final mesons. D decays have the unique feature that make them a key to light meson spectroscopy, in particular to access the Kn S-wave phase-shifts. We built a relativis-tic three-body model for the final state interaction in D+ → K -π+π+ decay based on the ladder approximation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation projected on the light-front. The decay amplitude is separated in a smooth term, given by the direct partonic decay amplitude, and a three-body fully interacting contribution, that is factorized in the standard two-meson resonant amplitude times a reduced complex amplitude that carries the effect of the three-body rescattering mechanism. The off-shell reduced amplitude is a solution of an inhomogeneous Faddeev type three-dimensional integral equation, that includes only isospin 1/2 K -π+ interaction in the S-wave channel. The elastic K-π+ scattering amplitude is parameterized according to the LASS data[1]. The integral equation is solved numerically and preliminary results are presented and compared to the experimental data from the E791 Collaboration[2, 3] and FOCUS Collaboration[4, 5].

Metabolomics method to comprehensively analyze amino acids in different domains

Amino acids play essential roles in both metabolism and the proteome. Many studies have profiled free amino acids (FAAs) or proteins; however, few have connected the measurement of FAA with individual amino acids in the proteome. In this study, we developed a metabolomics method to comprehensively analyze amino acids in different domains, using two examples of different sample types and disease models. We first examined the responses of FAAs and insoluble-proteome amino acids (IPAAs) to the Myc oncogene in Tet21N human neuroblastoma cells. The metabolic and proteomic amino acid profiles were quite different, even under the same Myc condition, and their combination provided a better understanding of the biological status. In addition, amino acids were measured in 3 domains (FAAs, free and soluble-proteome amino acids (FSPAAs), and IPAAs) to study changes in serum amino acid profiles related to colon cancer. A penalized logistic regression model based on the amino acids from the three domains had better sensitivity and specificity than that from each individual domain. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to perform a combined analysis of amino acids in different domains, and indicates the useful biological information available from a metabolomics analysis of the protein pellet. This study lays the foundation for further quantitative tracking of the distribution of amino acids in different domains, with opportunities for better diagnosis and mechanistic studies of various diseases.

Factor structure of the Bern Psychopathology Scale in a sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND The Bern Psychopathology Scale (BPS) is based on a system-specific approach to classifying the psychopathological symptom pattern of schizophrenia. It consists of subscales for three domains (language, affect and motor behaviour) that are hypothesized to be related to specific brain circuits. The aim of the study was to examine the factor structure of the BPS in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. METHODS One hundred and forty-nine inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were recruited at the Department of Psychiatry II, Ulm University, Germany (n=100) and at the University Hospital of Psychiatry, Bern, Switzerland (n=49). Psychopathology was assessed with the BPS. The VARCLUS procedure of SAS(®) (a type of oblique component analysis) was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Six clusters were identified (inhibited language, inhibited motor behaviour, inhibited affect, disinhibited affect, disinhibited language/motor behaviour, inhibited language/motor behaviour) which explained 40.13% of the total variance of the data. A binary division of attributes into an inhibited and disinhibited cluster was appropriate, although an overlap was found between the language and motor behaviour domains. There was a clear distinction between qualitative and quantitative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The results argue for the validity of the BPS in identifying subsyndromes of schizophrenia spectrum disorders according to a dimensional approach. Future research should address the longitudinal assessment of dimensional psychopathological symptoms and elucidate the underlying neurobiological processes.