1,144 research outputs found
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
Lignipirellula cremea gen. nov., sp. nov., a planctomycete isolated from wood particles in a brackish river estuary
A novel planctomycetal strain, designated Pla85_3_4, was isolated from the surface of wood incubated at the discharge of a wastewater treatment plant in the Warnow river near Rostock, Germany. Cells of the novel strain have a cell envelope architecture resembling that of Gram-negative bacteria, are round to pear-shaped (length: 2.2 ± 0.4 μm, width: 1.2 ± 0.3 μm), form aggregates and divide by polar budding. Colonies have a cream colour. Strain Pla85_3_4 grows at ranges of 10–30 °C (optimum 26 °C) and at pH 6.5–10.0 (optimum 7.5), and has a doubling time of 26 h. Phylogenetically, strain Pla85_3_4 (DSM 103796 = LMG 29741) is concluded to represent a novel species of a novel genus within the family Pirellulaceae, for which we propose the name Lignipirellula cremea gen. nov., sp. nov
Anoxic Iron Cycling Bacteria from an Iron Sulfide- and Nitrate-Rich Freshwater Environment
In this study, both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods were used to determine whether the iron sulfide mineral- and nitrate-rich freshwater nature reserve Het Zwart Water accommodates anoxic microbial iron cycling. Molecular analyses (16S rRNA gene clone library and fluorescence in situ hybridization, FISH) showed that sulfur-oxidizing denitrifiers dominated the microbial population. In addition, bacteria resembling the iron-oxidizing, nitrate-reducing Acidovorax strain BrG1 accounted for a major part of the microbial community in the groundwater of this ecosystem. Despite the apparent abundance of strain BrG1-like bacteria, iron-oxidizing nitrate reducers could not be isolated, likely due to the strictly autotrophic cultivation conditions adopted in our study. In contrast an iron-reducing Geobacter sp. was isolated from this environment while FISH and 16S rRNA gene clone library analyses did not reveal any Geobacter sp.-related sequences in the groundwater. Our findings indicate that iron-oxidizing nitrate reducers may be of importance to the redox cycling of iron in the groundwater of our study site and illustrate the necessity of employing both culture-dependent and independent methods in studies on microbial processes
Having a lot of a good thing: multiple important group memberships as a source of self-esteem.
Copyright: © 2015 Jetten et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedMembership in important social groups can promote a positive identity. We propose and test an identity resource model in which personal self-esteem is boosted by membership in additional important social groups. Belonging to multiple important group memberships predicts personal self-esteem in children (Study 1a), older adults (Study 1b), and former residents of a homeless shelter (Study 1c). Study 2 shows that the effects of multiple important group memberships on personal self-esteem are not reducible to number of interpersonal ties. Studies 3a and 3b provide longitudinal evidence that multiple important group memberships predict personal self-esteem over time. Studies 4 and 5 show that collective self-esteem mediates this effect, suggesting that membership in multiple important groups boosts personal self-esteem because people take pride in, and derive meaning from, important group memberships. Discussion focuses on when and why important group memberships act as a social resource that fuels personal self-esteem.This study was supported by 1. Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT110100238) awarded to Jolanda Jetten (see http://www.arc.gov.au) 2. Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP110200437) to Jolanda Jetten and Genevieve Dingle (see http://www.arc.gov.au) 3. support from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being Program to Nyla Branscombe, S. Alexander Haslam, and Catherine Haslam (see http://www.cifar.ca)
Caulifigura coniformis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Planctomycetaceae isolated from a red biofilm sampled in a hydrothermal area
Pan44, a novel strain belonging to the phylum Planctomycetes, was isolated from a red biofilm in a hydrothermal area close to the island Panarea in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, Italy. The strain forms white colonies on solid medium and displays the following characteristics: cell division by budding, formation of rosettes, presence of matrix or fimbriae and long stalks. The cell surface has an interesting and characteristic texture made up of triangles and rectangles, which leads to a pine cone-like morphology of the strain. Strain Pan44 is mesophilic (temperature optimum 26 °C), slightly alkaliphilic (pH optimum 8.0), aerobic and heterotrophic. The strain has a genome size of 6.76 Mb with a G + C content of 63.2%. Phylogenetically, the strain is a member of the family Planctomycetaceae, order Planctomycetales, class Planctomycetia. Our analysis supports delineation of strain Pan44 from all known genera in this family, hence, we propose to assign it to a novel species within a novel genus, for which we propose the name Caulifigura coniformis gen. nov., sp. nov., represented by Pan44 (DSM 29405 = LMG 29788) as the type strain
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
Stieleria varia sp. nov., isolated from wood particles in the Baltic Sea, constitutes a novel species in the family Pirellulaceae within the phylum Planctomycetes
Species belonging to the bacterial phylum Planctomycetes are ubiquitous members of the microbial communities in aquatic environments and are frequently isolated from various biotic and abiotic surfaces in marine and limnic water bodies. Planctomycetes have large genomes of up to 12.4 Mb, follow complex lifestyles and display an uncommon cell biology; features which motivate the investigation of members of this phylum in greater detail. As a contribution to the current collection of axenic cultures of Planctomycetes, we here describe strain Pla52 isolated from wood particles in the Baltic Sea. Phylogenetic analysis places the strain in the family Pirellulaceae and suggests two species of the recently described genus Stieleria as current closest neighbours. Strain Pla52 shows typical features of members of the class Planctomycetia, including division by polar budding and the presence of crateriform structures. Colonies of strain Pla52 have a light orange colour, which is an unusual pigmentation compared to the majority of members in the phylum, which show either a pink to red pigmentation or entirely lack pigmentation. Optimal growth of strain Pla52 at 33 °C and pH 7.5 indicates a mesophilic (i.e. with optimal growth between 20 and 45 °C) and neutrophilic growth profile. The strain is an aerobic heterotroph with motile daughter cells. Its genome has a size of 9.6 Mb and a G + C content of 56.0%. Polyphasic analyses justify delineation of the strain from described species within the genus Stieleria. Therefore, we conclude that strain Pla52 = LMG 29463 = VKM B-3447 should be classified as the type strain of a novel species, for which we propose the name Stieleria varia sp. nov
Aureliella helgolandensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel Planctomycete isolated from a jellyfish at the shore of the island Helgoland
A novel planctomycetal strain, designated Q31a, was isolated from a jellyfish at the shore of the island Helgoland in the North Sea. The strain forms lucid white colonies on solid medium and displays typical characteristics of planctomycetal strains, such as division by budding, formation of rosettes, presence of crateriform structures, extracellular matrix or fibre and a holdfast structure. Q31a is mesophilic (temperature optimum 27 °C), neutrophilic (pH optimum 7.5), aerobic and heterotrophic. A maximal growth rate of 0.017 h (generation time of 41 h) was observed. Q31a has a genome size of 8.44 Mb and a G + C content of 55.3%. Phylogenetically, the strain represents a novel genus and species in the recently introduced family Pirellulaceae, order Pirellulales, class Planctomycetia.We propose the name Aureliella helgolandensis gen. nov., sp. nov. for the novel species, represented by Q31a (= DSM 103537= LMG 29700) as the type strain
Updates to the recently introduced family Lacipirellulaceae in the phylum Planctomycetes: isolation of strains belonsging to the novel genera Aeoliella, Botrimarina, Pirellulimonas and Pseudobythopirellula and the novel species Bythopirellula polymerisocia and Posidoniimonas corsicana
Eight novel strains of the phylum Planctomycetes were isolated from different aquatic habitats. Among these habitats were the hydrothermal vent system close to Panarea Island, a public beach at Mallorca Island, the shore of Costa Brava (Spain), and three sites with brackish water in the Baltic Sea. The genome sizes of the novel strains range from 4.33 to 6.29 Mb with DNA G+C contents between 52.8 and 66.7%. All strains are mesophilic (Topt 24–30 °C) and display generation times between 17 and 94 h. All eight isolates constitute novel species of either already described or novel genera within the family Lacipirellulaceae. Two of the novel species, Posidoniimonas polymericola (type strain Pla123a = DSM 103020 = LMG 29466) and Bythopirellula polymerisocia (type strain Pla144 = DSM 104841 = VKM B-3442), belong to established genera, while the other strains represent the novel genera Aeoliella gen. nov., Botrimarina gen. nov., Pirellulimonas gen. nov. and Pseudobythopirellula gen. nov. Based on our polyphasic analysis, we propose the species Aeoliella mucimassa sp. nov. (type strain Pan181 = DSM 29370 = LMG 31346 = CECT 9840 = VKM B-3426), Botrimarina colliarenosi sp. nov. (type strain Pla108 = DSM 103355 = LMG 29803), Botrimarina hoheduenensis sp. nov. (type strain Pla111 = DSM 103485 = STH00945, Jena Microbial Resource Collection JMRC), Botrimarina mediterranea sp. nov. (type strain Spa11 = DSM 100745 = LMG 31350 = CECT 9852 = VKM B-3431), Pirellulimonas nuda sp. nov. (type strain Pla175 = DSM 109594 = CECT 9871 = VKM B-3448) and Pseudobythopirellula maris sp. nov. (type strain Mal64 = DSM 100832 = LMG 29020)
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