Hopelessly Mortal: The Role of Mortality Salience, Immortality and Trait Self-esteem in Personal Hope

Do people lose hope when thinking about death? Based on Terror Management Theory, we predicted that thoughts of death (i.e., mortality salience) would reduce personal hope for people low, but not high, in self-esteem, and that this reduction in hope would be ameliorated by promises of immortality. In Studies 1 and 2, mortality salience reduced personal hope for people low in self-esteem, but not for people high in self-esteem. In Study 3, mortality salience reduced hope for people low in self-esteem when they read an argument that there is no afterlife, but not when they read “evidence” supporting life after death. In Study 4, this effect was replicated with an essay affirming scientific medical advances that promise immortality. Together, these findings uniquely demonstrate that thoughts of mortality interact with trait self-esteem to cause changes in personal hope, and that literal immortality beliefs can aid psychological adjustment when thinking about death. Implications for understanding personal hope, trait self-esteem, afterlife beliefs and terror management are discussed

When group members admit to being conformist: the role of relative intragroup status in conformity self-reports

Authors' draft; final version published in Personality and Social Psychology BulletinFive studies examined the hypothesis that people will strategically portray the self as being more group influenced the more junior they feel within the group. Among social psychologists (Study 1), ratings of self-conformity by group members were greater when the status of the participant was low than when it was high. These effects were replicated in Studies 2, 3, and 4 in which relative intragroup status was manipulated. In Study 3, the authors found junior group members described themselves as more conformist than senior members when they were addressing an ingroup audience, but when they were addressing an outgroup audience the effect disappeared. Furthermore, junior members (but not senior members) rated themselves as more conformist when they were led to believe their responses were public than when responses were private (Study 5). The discussion focuses on the strategic processes underlying low-status group members’ self-reports of group influence and the functional role of conformity in groups

Facet ridge end points in crystal shapes

Equilibrium crystal shapes (ECS) near facet ridge end points (FRE) are generically complex. We study the body-centered solid-on-solid model on a square lattice with an enhanced uniaxial interaction range to test the stability of the so-called stochastic FRE point where the model maps exactly onto one dimensional Kardar-Parisi-Zhang type growth and the local ECS is simple. The latter is unstable. The generic ECS contains first-order ridges extending into the rounded part of the ECS, where two rough orientations coexist and first-order faceted to rough boundaries terminating in Pokrovsky-Talapov type end points.Comment: Contains 4 pages, 5 eps figures. Uses RevTe

Оцінювання за зашумленними спостереженнями невідомих даних лінійних еліптичних рівнянь, що допускають змішане варіаційне формулювання

Получен новый класс систем вариационных уравнений через решения которых выражаются минимаксные оценки значений функционалов от неизвестных правых частей линейных эллиптических уравнений 2-го порядка.Одержаний новий клас систем варіаційних рівнянь через розв'язки яких виражаються мінімаксні оцінки значень функционалів від невідомих правих частин лінійних еліптичних рівнянь 2-го порядку.We obtain a new class of systems of variational equations via whose solutions the minimax estimates of values of functionals from unknown right-hand sides of the second order linear elliptic equations are expressed

Draft genome of a novel methanotrophic Methylobacter sp. from the volcanic soils of Pantelleria Island

The genus Methylobacter is considered an important and often dominant group of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria in many oxic ecosystems, where members of this genus contribute to the reduction of CH4 emissions. Metagenomic studies of the upper oxic layers of geothermal soils of the Favara Grande, Pantelleria, Italy, revealed the presence of various methane-oxidizing bacteria, and resulted in a near complete metagenome assembled genome (MAG) of an aerobic methanotroph, which was classified as a Methylobacter species. In this study, the Methylobacter sp. B2 MAG was used to investigate its metabolic potential and phylogenetic affiliation. The MAG has a size of 4,086,539 bp, consists of 134 contigs and 3955 genes were found, of which 3902 were protein coding genes. All genes for CH4 oxidation to CO2 were detected, including pmoCAB encoding particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) and xoxF encoding a methanol dehydrogenase. No gene encoding a formaldehyde dehydrogenase was present and the formaldehyde to formate conversion follows the tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) pathway. “Ca. Methylobacter favarea” B2 uses the Ribulose-Mono-Phosphate (RuMP) pathway for carbon fixation. Analysis of the MAG indicates that Na+/H+ antiporters and the urease system might be important in the maintenance of pH homeostasis of this strain to cope with acidic conditions. So far, thermoacidophilic Methylobacter species have not been isolated, however this study indicates that members of the genus Methylobacter can be found in distinct ecosystems and their presence is not restricted to freshwater or marine sediments

Multinational data show that conspiracy beliefs are associated with the perception (and reality) of poor national economic performance

While a great deal is known about the individual difference factors associated with conspiracy beliefs, much less is known about the country-level factors that shape people's willingness to believe conspiracy theories. In the current article we discuss the possibility that willingness to believe conspiracy theories might be shaped by the perception (and reality) of poor economic performance at the national level. To test this notion, we surveyed 6723 participants from 36 countries. In line with predictions, propensity to believe conspiracy theories was negatively associated with perceptions of current and future national economic vitality. Furthermore, countries with higher GDP per capita tended to have lower belief in conspiracy theories. The data suggest that conspiracy beliefs are not just caused by intrapsychic factors but are also shaped by difficult economic circumstances for which distrust might have a rational basis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The complex TIE between macrophages and angiogenesis

Macrophages are primarily known as phagocytic immune cells, but they also play a role in diverse processes, such as morphogenesis, homeostasis and regeneration. In this review, we discuss the influence of macrophages on angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation from the pre-existing vasculature. Macrophages play crucial roles at each step of the angiogenic cascade, starting from new blood vessel sprouting to the remodelling of the vascular plexus and vessel maturation. Macrophages form promising targets for both pro- and anti-angiogenic treatments. However, to target macrophages, we will first need to understand the mechanisms that control the functional plasticity of macrophages during each of the steps of the angiogenic cascade. Here, we review recent insights in this topic. Special attention will be given to the TIE2-expressing macrophage (TEM), which is a subtype of highly angiogenic macrophages that is able to influence angiogenesis via the angiopoietin-TIE pathway

Neighbourhood identity helps residents cope with residential diversification: contact in increasingly mixed neighbourhoods of Northern Ireland

Research on residential diversification has mainly focused on its negative impacts upon community cohesion and positive effects on intergroup relations. However, these analyses ignore how neighbourhood identity can shape the consequences of diversification among residents. Elsewhere, research using the Applied Social Identity Approach (ASIA) has demonstrated the potential for neighbourhood identity to provide social and psychological resources to cope with challenges. The current paper proposes a novel model whereby these ‘Social Cure’ processes can enable residents to cope with the specific challenges of diversification. We present two studies in support of this model, each from the increasingly religiously desegregated society of post-conflict Northern Ireland. Analysis of the 2012 ‘Northern Ireland Life and Times’ survey shows that across Northern Ireland, neighbourhood identity impacts positively upon both wellbeing and intergroup attitudes via a reduction in intergroup anxiety. A second custom-designed survey of residents in a newly-mixed area of Belfast shows that neighbourhood identification predicts increased wellbeing, reduced intergroup anxiety and reduced prejudice, independently of group norms and experiences of contact. For political psychologists, our evidence suggests a reformulation of the fundamental question of ‘what effects does residential mixing have on neighbourhoods?’ to ‘how can neighbourhood communities support residents to collectively cope with contact?’

Structured activity and multiple group memberships as mechanisms of increased depression among young people not in employment, education or training

Aims Young people Not in Employment, Education and Training (NEET) are at increased risk of depression, yet mechanisms of this association are poorly understood. We hypothesised that being NEET has both behavioural and social identity consequences and that reductions in structured activity and multiple group memberships underlie increased depression in this group. Our purpose was to assess first whether depression was greater for NEET compared to non‐NEET young people from the same geographical locality, and secondly, whether a loss of structured activity leading to a reduction in multiple group memberships explains the NEET‐depression association. Methods The present study was a cross‐sectional between‐groups design using convenience sampling. Measures of depression, structured activity and multiple group memberships were obtained from 45 NEET young people and 190 university students (non‐NEET). Results The NEET group reported significantly more depression symptoms compared to the non‐NEET student control group. A path model specifying NEET status as a predictor of depression, with this association mediated by a reduction in structured activity and fewer multiple group memberships (standardised indirect = 0.03, unstandardised indirect = 0.62, P = 0.052, 95% bias corrected confidence intervals [0.21,1.44]), provided excellent fit to our data: χ2(3) = 0.26, P = 0.968, comparative fit index (CFI) = 1.00, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)<0.01, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.01). Conclusions Our findings suggest that depression is elevated amongst NEET young people compared to non‐NEET students from the same locality. The association between NEET status and depression was partially mediated by reduced structured activity and its association with reduced multiple group memberships. Although using cross‐sectional data, our findings suggest social interventions may be a key resource in ameliorating depression amongst NEET young people; through preserving engagement in structured activity and the wellbeing benefits derived from arising multiple group memberships. Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional between-groups design using convenience sampling. Measures of depression, structured activity and multiple group memberships were obtained from 45 ‘NEET’ young people and 190 university students (Non-‘NEET’). Results: The NEET group reported significantly more depression symptoms compared to the Non-NEET student control group. A path model specifying NEET status as a predictor of depression, with this association mediated by a reduction in structured activity and fewer multiple group memberships (standardised indirect = 0.03, unstandardised indirect= 0.62, p= .052, 95% Bias Corrected CIs [0.21; 1.44]), provided excellent fit to our data χ2(3)= 0.26, p= .968, CFI= 1.00, RMSEA< .01, SRMR= .01, AIC= 2,792.75, BIC= 2,818.20). Conclusions: Our findings suggest depression is elevated amongst NEET young people compared to Non-NEET students from the same locality. The association between NEET status and depression was partially mediated by reduced structured activity and its association with reduced multiple group memberships. Although cross-sectional, our findings suggest social interventions may be a key resource in ameliorating depression amongst NEET young people; through preserving engagement in structured activity and the wellbeing benefits derived from arising multiple group memberships

Diversity and enrichment of nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidizing bacteria from wastewater sludge

Recently discovered microorganisms affiliated to the bacterial phylum NC10, named “Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera”, perform nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation. These microorganisms could be important players in a novel way of anaerobic wastewater treatment where ammonium and residual dissolved methane might be removed at the expense of nitrate or nitrite. To find suitable inocula for reactor startup, ten selected wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in The Netherlands were screened for the endogenous presence of M. oxyfera using molecular diagnostic methods. We could identify NC10 bacteria with 98% similarity to M. oxyfera in nine out of ten WWTPs tested. Sludge from one selected WWTP was used to start a new enrichment culture of NC10 bacteria. This enrichment was monitored using specific pmoA primers and M. oxyfera cells were visualized with fluorescence oligonucleotide probes. After 112 days, the enrichment consumed up to 0.4 mM NO2− per day. The results of this study show that appropriate sources of biomass, enrichment strategies, and diagnostic tools existed to start and monitor pilot scale tests for the implementation of nitrite-dependent methane oxidation in wastewater treatment at ambient temperature