Convergent processing of the world may be a factor that contributes to social connectedness. We use neuroimaging and network analysis to investigate the association between the social-network position (as measured by in-degree centrality) of first-year university students and their neural similarity while watching naturalistic audio-visual stimuli (specifically, videos). There were 119 students in the social-network study; 63 of them participated in the neuroimaging study. We show that more central individuals had similar neural responses to their peers and to each other in brain regions that are associated with high-level interpretations and social cognition (e.g., in the default mode network), whereas less-central individuals exhibited more variable responses. Self-reported enjoyment of and interest in stimuli followed a similar pattern, but accounting for these data did not change our main results. These findings show that neural processing of external stimuli is similar in highly-central individuals but is idiosyncratic in less-central individuals.
Germination and outgrowth are critical steps for returning Bacillus subtilis spores to life. However, oxidative stress due to full hydration of the spore core during germination and activation of metabolism in spore outgrowth may generate oxidative DNA damage that in many species is processed by apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonucleases. B. subtilis spores possess two AP endonucleases, Nfo and ExoA; the outgrowth of spores lacking both of these enzymes was slowed, and the spores had an elevated mutation frequency, suggesting that these enzymes repair DNA lesions induced by oxidative stress during spore germination and outgrowth. Addition of H 2 O 2 also slowed the outgrowth of nfo exoA spores and increased the mutation frequency, and nfo and exoA mutations slowed the outgrowth of spores deficient in either RecA, nucleotide excision repair (NER), or the DNA-protective ␣/-type small acid-soluble spore proteins (SASP). These results suggest that ␣/-type SASP protect DNA of germinating spores against damage that can be repaired by Nfo and ExoA, which is generated either spontaneously or promoted by addition of H 2 O 2 . The contribution of RecA and Nfo/ExoA was similar to but greater than that of NER in repair of DNA damage generated during spore germination and outgrowth. However, nfo and exoA mutations increased the spontaneous mutation frequencies of outgrown spores lacking uvrA or recA to about the same extent, suggesting that DNA lesions generated during spore germination and outgrowth are processed by Nfo/ExoA in combination with NER and/or RecA. These results suggest that Nfo/ExoA, RecA, the NER system, and ␣/-type SASP all contribute to the repair of and/or protection against oxidative damage of DNA in germinating and outgrowing spores.Due to their ability to survive during long periods of dormancy, spores of Bacillus subtilis are an excellent model system in which to study the consequences of exposure to environmental factors that can cause DNA damage. Physical and chemical factors, including UV-A and -B from sunlight, high temperatures, desiccation, and oxidizing chemicals, such as hydrogen peroxide, have the potential to cause damage to dormant spore DNA (13, 15). However, spores of the genus Bacillus counter these potential damaging agents with a number of factors to maintain the integrity of the genome. These factors include (i) the spore coats, (ii) the low water content in the spore core, (iii) the low permeability of the spore's inner membrane to hydrophilic small molecules, and (iv) the saturation of spore DNA with ␣/-type small acid-soluble spore proteins (SASP) (13,28,29,31). The ␣/-type SASP play the most direct role in protecting spore DNA from a variety of types of damage, including depurination-depyrimidination and hydroxyl radical-induced backbone cleavage. As a consequence, these proteins make major contributions to spore resistance to heat and oxidizing agents (13, 31). The ␣/-type SASP are also a major factor in the high resistance of B. subtilis spores to UV light (13,14,28,29,31). H...
This investigation examined the explanatory role of anxiety sensitivity in the relationship between perceived racial discrimination and anxiety–depressive symptoms and disorders among Latinos seeking health services at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Participants included 202 Spanish-speaking Latino adults (86.1% female; Mage = 38.99 years, SD = 12.43) who completed a structured interview and study measures. Results indicated perceived racial discrimination was indirectly related to depression, social anxiety, anxious arousal, and mood and anxiety disorders through anxiety sensitivity. Indirect effects were of medium-large size for all criterion variables. Observed effects were evident above and beyond variance accounted for by age, gender, marital status, and years in the United States. Comparative models revealed significant bidirectional effects from anxiety sensitivity via perceived racial discrimination in relation to anxiety–depressive symptoms and disorders. The current results suggest anxiety sensitivity may be an individual difference factor that serves as a mechanism between perceived racial discrimination and mental health among Latino adults, but these 2 constructs may also maintain bidirectional relations with 1 another.
<p><strong>Introducción.</strong> <em>Rickettsia typhi</em> es la bacteria causante del tifo murino o endémico, el cual es transmitido al ser humano principalmente por medio de heces infectadas de pulgas y en cuyo ciclo de infección se encuentran involucrados distintos animales sinantrópicos y domésticos. En la comunidad rural de Bolmay, Yucatán, México, se han reportado casos de tifo murino en seres humanos durante el periodo 2007-2010.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Objetivo.</strong> Identificar la presencia de <em>R</em>.<em> typhi</em> y estimar la frecuencia de infección en perros de Bolmay, Yucatán, México.</p><p><strong>Materiales y métodos.</strong> Se tomaron muestras de sangre completa a 128 perros, se les extrajo ADN total y se analizaron mediante la prueba de Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa para amplificar fragmentos de los genes<em>17-kDa</em> y <em>omp B</em> y confirmar la presencia de <em>Rickettsia</em> spp. Los productos de las reacciones se enviaron a secuenciación y se les realizó un análisis de alineamiento con la herramienta <em>BLAST</em>.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Resultados.</strong> Se encontró una frecuencia de infección de 5,5 % (7/128). El alineamiento demostró 99 % y 100 % de homologación para los genes <em>17-kDa</em> y o<em>mp B</em> respectivamente, ambos para la especie <em>R</em>. <em>typhi</em>.</p><p><strong>Conclusión.</strong> Se detectó la presencia de <em>R</em>. <em>typhi</em> con baja frecuencia de infección en perros de la comunidad de estudio; sin embargo, podría representar un riesgo potencial de transmisión hacia los seres humanos. </p>
Loneliness (i.e., the distressing feeling that often accompanies the subjective sense of social disconnection) is detrimental to mental and physical health, and deficits in self-reported feelings of being understood by others is a risk factor for loneliness. What contributes to these deficits in lonely people? We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to unobtrusively measure the relative alignment of various aspects of people’s mental processing of naturalistic stimuli (specifically, videos) as they unfold over time. We thereby tested whether lonely people actually process the world in idiosyncratic ways, rather than only exaggerating or misperceiving how dissimilar others’ views are to their own (which could lead them to feel misunderstood, even if they actually see the world similarly to those around them). We found evidence for such idiosyncrasy: lonely individuals’ neural responses during free viewing of the videos were dissimilar to peers in their communities, particularly in brain regions (e.g., regions of the default-mode network) in which similar responses have been associated with shared psychological perspectives and subjective understanding. Our findings were robust even after controlling for demographic similarities, participants’ overall levels of objective social isolation, and their friendships with each other. These results suggest that being surrounded predominantly by people who see the world differently from oneself may be a risk factor for loneliness, even if one is friends with them.
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