Time heals all (shallow) wounds. A lesson on forgiveness of ingroup transgressors learned by the feyenoord vandal fans

This paper examines how a social threat posed by a deviant behavior affects second-hand forgiveness over time toward ingroup and outgroup transgressors. In Study 1, using real news reports, we investigated intergroup rivalries between soccer fans in order to understand the role of group membership in predicting the intention to forgive transgressors. Results suggested that transgressors were less likely to be forgiven by ingroup members rather than outgroup members, thus showing evidence of the black sheep effect. In Study 2 (using a different sample), we analyzed the same intergroup rivalries one year after the transgression in order to explore changes in intention to forgive over time. Results showed that, after one year, ingroup members were more likely to forgive ingroup than outgroup transgressors, but only when the threat to the group stereotype was not salient. The implications of the results for the subjective group dynamics theory and for the black sheep effect are discusse

Leaf proteome modulation and cytological features of seagrass Cymodocea nodosa in response to long-term high CO2 exposure in volcanic vents

Seagrass Cymodocea nodosa was sampled off the Vulcano island, in the vicinity of a submarine volcanic vent. Leaf samples were collected from plants growing in a naturally acidified site, influenced by the long-term exposure to high CO2 emissions, and compared with others collected in a nearby meadow living at normal pCO(2) conditions. The differential accumulated proteins in leaves growing in the two contrasting pCO(2) environments was investigated. Acidified leaf tissues had less total protein content and the semi-quantitative proteomic comparison revealed a strong general depletion of proteins belonging to the carbon metabolism and protein metabolism. A very large accumulation of proteins related to the cell respiration and to light harvesting process was found in acidified leaves in comparison with those growing in the normal pCO(2) site. The metabolic pathways linked to cytoskeleton turnover also seemed affected by the acidified condition, since a strong reduction in the concentration of cytoskeleton structural proteins was found in comparison with the normal pCO(2) leaves. Results coming from the comparative proteomics were validated by the histological and cytological measurements, suggesting that the long lasting exposure and acclimation of C. nodosa to the vents involved phenotypic adjustments that can offer physiological and structural tools to survive the suboptimal conditions at the vents vicinity

Comparative analysis of lipids in rock art paintings and rock supports at the locality La Angostura, Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina

En este trabajo comparamos la presencia de lípidos en muestras de pinturas rupestres de la localidad La Angostura con las del recubrimiento natural de las rocas soporte para determinar si se utilizó algún aglutinante lipídico en la preparación de las pinturas. La aplicación de técnicas analíticas sensibles, como la cromatografía gaseosa con detector de ionización de llama y cromatografía gaseosa acoplada a espectrometría de masa al estudio de las muestras, posibilitó la identificación de ácidos grasos en todas las muestras de pintura y en dos de las tres rocas soporte. En las muestras de color verde y negro, el contenido y la composición de los ácidos grasos resultó distinta a la de las rocas soporte, lo cual sugiere la incorporación de material lipídico en las pinturas. Este trabajo constituye el primer estudio comparativo sobre la presencia de lípidos en pinturas rupestres y sus rocas soporte en la provincia del Chubut.In this work we compare the presence of lipids in samples of rock art from La Angostura locality with those of the natural coating of rock supports to determine if any lipid binder was used in the preparation of the paints. Te application of sensitive analytical techniques such as gas chromatography with a fame ionization detector and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry to the study of the samples allowed us to identify fatty acids in all the paint samples and in two of the three rock supports. In the green and black paints, the content and composition of fatty acids were diferent from that of the rock supports, which suggests the incorporation of lipid material in the paints. Tis is the frst comparative study on the presence of lipids in rock art paintings and their rock supports from the province of Chubut.Fil: Gurin, Maria Celeste. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Comodoro. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Careaga Quiroga, Valeria Pilar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Orgánica; ArgentinaFil: Gomez Otero, Julieta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "san Juan Bosco". Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales - Sede Puerto Madryn; ArgentinaFil: Mazzuca, Marcia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia Golfo San Jorge. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia Golfo San Jorge: Sede Caleta Olivia - Santa Cruz | Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia Golfo San Jorge. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia Golfo San Jorge: Sede Caleta Olivia - Santa Cruz | Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "san Juan Bosco". Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia Golfo San Jorge. Centro de Investigaciones y Transferencia Golfo San Jorge: Sede Caleta Olivia - Santa Cruz; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia "San Juan Bosco". Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Ciencias de la Salud - Sede Comodoro. Departamento de Química; ArgentinaFil: Maier, Marta Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Unidad de Microanálisis y Métodos Físicos en Química Orgánica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Orgánica; Argentin

Molecular origin of the two-step mechanism of gellan aggregation

Among hydrocolloids, gellan is one of the most studied polysaccharides due to its ability to form mechanically stable gels. Despite its long-standing use, the gellan aggregation mechanism is still not understood because of the lack of atomistic information. Here, we fill this gap by developing a new gellan force field. Our simulations offer the first microscopic overview of gellan aggregation, detecting the coil to single-helix transition at dilute conditions and the formation of higher-order aggregates at high concentration through a two-step process: first, the formation of double helices and then their assembly into superstructures. For both steps, we also assess the role of monovalent and divalent cations, complementing simulations with rheology and atomic force microscopy experiments and highlighting the leading role of divalent cations. These results pave the way for future use of gellan-based systems in a variety of applications, from food science to art restoration

The modulation of leaf metabolism plays a role in salt tolerance of Cymodocea nodosa exposed to hypersaline stress in mesocosms

Applying proteomics, we tested the physiological responses of the euryhaline seagrass Cymodocea nodosa to deliberate manipulation of salinity in a mesocosm system. Plants were subjected to a chronic hypersaline condition (43 psu) to compare protein expression and plant photochemistry responses after 15 and 30 days of exposure with those of plants cultured under normal/ambient saline conditions (37 psu). Results showed a general decline in the expression level of leaf proteins in hypersaline stressed plants, with more intense reductions after long-lasting exposure. Specifically, the carbon-fixing enzyme RuBisCo displayed a lower accumulation level in stressed plants relative to controls. In contrast, the key enzymes involved in the regulation of glycolysis, cytosolic glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, enolase 2 and triose-phosphate isomerase, showed significantly higher accumulation levels. These responses suggested a shift in carbon metabolism in stressed plants. Hypersaline stress also induced a significant alteration of the photosynthetic physiology of C. nodosa by means of a downregulation in structural proteins and enzymes of both PSII and PSI. However we found an over-expression of the cytochrome b559 alpha subunit of the PSII initial complex, which is a receptor for the PSII core proteins involved in biogenesis or repair processes and therefore potentially involved in the absence of effects at the photochemical level of stressed plants. As expected hypersalinity also affects vacuolar metabolism by increasing the leaf cell turgor pressure and enhancing the up-take of Na+ by overaccumulating the tonoplast specific intrinsic protein pyrophosphate-energized inorganic pyrophosphatase (H(+)-PPase) coupled to the Na+/H+-antiporter. The modulation of carbon metabolism and the enhancement of vacuole capacity in Na+ sequestration and osmolarity changes are discussed in relation to salt tolerance of C. nodosa.Postprin

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Leave or remain? How outraged reactions to intra-group threat affect group's membership preference

Whether we think about large-scale social groups (e.g. associations, clubs, and nations) or small-scale interpersonal group (e.g. close relationships, colleagues, and group of friends), the life cycle of any social group develops along a continuum that goes from its formation to its dissolution. The different phases of group life are characterized by opposing forces that somehow determine the continuity of the group, such as conformism and cohesion, or its discontinuity, such as deviance, intragroup conflict and schism. Social psychology has concentrated almost exclusively on the processes that allow groups achieving oneness and uniformity, such as social identity and categorization process, and has given little attention to the phenomenon of group dissolution, the schism. Although the complexity of this process may have limited the research, schism is not a so rare phenomenon and the recent international events of Grexit, Brexit, and the separatism of Cataluña, have shown that it critically affects the society as a whole. In general, schism refers to a split or separation of a group into subgroups, and the final secession of at least one subgroup from the original group. Differently from the individual exit, the schism involves that individuals act as a (sub-) group, and as such it implies that an intra-group situation (the original group) become an intergroup situation (subgroups) where conflicts over essential aspects of the group identity stimulate a division between “us” and “them”. Although the social psychological model of schism in groups proposed by Sani (2005) has highlighted some necessary conditions of a schism, among which there are the perception of identity subversion, the lack of group entitativity and the existence of conflicting majority and minority factions, the link between the cause and the decision to leave a group is unclear as one cause may facilitate leaving for one member and not for another. In this endeavour, the current research was aimed to address this gap, by investigating the role of affective and cognitive reactions to a perceived identity threat, and pointed to moral outrage (a specific emotion) and to psychological disengagement (a cognitive process) as two decisive reactions that may motivate minority group members to secede from a superordinate group. Identity threats are of critical importance for individuals and groups, because when people identify with a social group, they start thinking and behaving in terms of “we” instead of “I”; that is, in terms of a social identity. Since this identity strongly affect the self-esteem (Stets & Burke, 2000), individuals are motivated to self-categorise and to evaluate themselves and their group more favourably that other groups. When a perceived threat to the group integrity occurs (as happen when individual’s positions within a group changes from majority to minority) , members of both minority and majority group engage in defensive strategies such as social comparison and self-verification, that produces pressures for intergroup differentiation with the objective of enhancing selfesteem. Individuals who find their opinions supported by others (thus belongs to the majority) tend to assimilate with and positively value the in-group category (e.g. Crocker & Luhtanen, 1990; Schmitt, Branscombe, Silvia, Garcia, & Spears; Tajfel, Billig, Bundy & Flament,1971). On the other hand, individuals that find their position supported by a minority group of people, tend to stress the existing discrepancy between the self (the minority) and the group (the majority), and to engage in defensive mechanism aimed at reshaping the self-concept in a way that reduce the salience of the group identity (the majority) for the self. That is, they decrease their psychological identification (Prislin & Christensen, 2005) and increase the psychological disengagement with the majority position, and this may be crucial in generating the intention to leave the group, as a means of intergroup differentiation. However, psychological disengagement does not always lead to the break up with a group, as some people may accept the situation, whereas others may resent it (Dube´ & Guimond, 1983; 1986). Moreover, leaving a group is costly and it may be experienced as a form of betrayal, and may be sanctioned as a deviant behaviour (Millward & Brewerton, 2000). According to Harris (2015), the emotional experience associated with a membership may be critical in generating exit intention, via psychological disengagement. Those individuals experiencing identity threat and thus identity subversion, come to feel a mix of dejection and agitation-related emotions (Higgins, Shah & Friedman, 1997) as a group and these motivate them to make changes to group-relevant standards and/or behaviour. The extent to which these group-based emotions are intense may be decisive to activate and prepare the ground for taking a decision on whether to collectively exit from majority. Scholars have mapped several influential emotions on behavioural tendencies in intergroup conflict, and have found moral outrage being a particular emotion that provide the motivational force to act with respect of social norms and social order (Kroll & Egan, 2004). More specifically, moral outrage is a form of emotional distress, provoked by the perception that a moral standard has been violated, which determines an intense experience of morally based anger (e.g. Montada & Schneider, 1989). This emotion involves the judgment and the condemnation of others and has been found to play a key role in collective actions (Van Zomeren, Postmes & Spears, 2008), as a means of changing the status quo and defending one’s social identity under threat (Rotschild, Landau, Molina, Branscombe & Sullivan, 2013; Tauber & Van Zomeren, 2013). Outrage has been also linked to avoidance tendencies (Smith, Seger & Mackie, 2007) and to an unwillingness to engage in contact with the out-group (e.g. Esses & Dovidio, 2002) and thus it may be linked to the perception of “identity subversion” that trigger schismatic intentions (Sani & Reicher, 1998). Starting from these premises, it was hypothesized that minority group members’ experience of outrage, caused by the perception that the majority is threatening their minority moral standing, may play a pivotal role in increasing their psychological disengagement, and consequently their willingness to collectively exit the majority group. Three studies examined the effect of (a) moral outrage and of (b) psychological disengagement on schismatic intention, and identified the conditions under which these reactions lead minority group members to give up with their membership in a majority group. In the first two studies, a moderated mediational model of moral outrage was tested in the relationship between moral threat and intention to leave. In the third study, a mediational model of disengagement in the relationship between moral outrage and leaving intention was tested. Study 1 analysed the real-life event of Brexit (it was run few days before the referendum), and found moral outrage about maintain the membership in the EU, mediating the relationship between a moral threat (caused by PM, Cameron, defending EU position) and the intention to leave the EU. Study 2 (run nine months after the referendum) accounted for the change in leadership prototypicality after the Brexit results (Cameron resigned, and May become the new Prime Minister of UK) and confirmed the mediating role of outrage about staying in EU, and the decision to leave the EU. These two studies provided an initial evidence for the motivating role of moral outrage in pushing forward the defence of the minority identity (UK), at the expense of the membership in a super-ordinate identity (EU). Study 3, lend further support to the causal role of moral outrage on exit processes, by pointing to psychological disengagement as a mediator of such relationship. By manipulating two discrete components of moral outrage (anger and contempt were considered, because of their different social functions; see e.g. Roseman & Fisher, 2007), disengagement was found to differently predict the collective actions of voice and exit. In particular, results showed that the contempt component of outrage, rather than the anger component, triggered individuals intention to give up with their membership in the majority group, and this relationship was fully mediated by psychologically disengagement. Directions for future research and implementations of the findings of the current research are discusses according to schism theory and intergroup conflict processes

Behind the Lines of #MeToo: Exploring Women’s and Men’s Intentions to Join the Movement

Campaigns supporting victims of gender harassment and abuse, such as #MeToo, have made and still make significant contributions to achieving the fifth UN Sustainable Development Goal aimed at eliminating “all forms of violence against all women”. In two correlational studies, we examined possible antecedents of people’s willingness to participate in the #MeToo campaign by focusing on the role of ambivalent beliefs toward women and men and the perceived effects of the movement. Men (Study 1) and women (Study 2) were asked to answer questions concerning hostile and benevolent beliefs about women and men, respectively, their perception of the beneficial and detrimental effects of #MeToo, and their intentions to participate in the campaign. Study 1 showed that men’s hostile sexism toward women was associated with fewer intentions to actively support the #MeToo campaign and that the reduced beliefs that the movement had beneficial effects mediated this relation. Study 2 revealed that women’s stronger benevolent beliefs about men were associated with decreased perception that the #MeToo campaign had a beneficial impact. In turn, such a perception was related to lower intentions to participate in supporting the campaign. Moreover, women’s hostility toward men explained the intention to join the #MeToo movement through the mediation of the perception that the campaign was beneficial. The findings suggest that to foster participation in a feminist movement that promotes women’s rights, it is necessary to eradicate traditional gender roles and the related ideologies that legitimate men’s dominant position in society

Regolazione emotiva e soddisfazione coniugale: il ruolo moderatore del contagio emotivo

La coordinazione emotiva tra i partner è indispensabile per la buona riuscita di un matrimonio. Le emozioni dei partner diventano interconnesse attraverso processi sia controllati che automatici, come ad esempio la regolazione emotiva (ER) ed il contagio emotivo. Questi due corpus di ricerca non sono stati ancora intrecciati e le ricerche sono rimaste ancorate ad una prospettiva intra-individuale. Rara è la ricerca che esamina la dinamica della regolazione emotiva sulla qualità relazionale da un punto di vista inter-indiviudale ed il ruolo del contagio emotivo in tale relazione. Il paradigma di ricerca della regolazione emotiva utilizzato è il modello modale di Gross che identifica due principali strategie di regolazione emotiva , la rivalutazione cognitiva e la soppressione espressiva. Questo progetto ha come obiettivo l’identificazione di specifici pattern di co-regolazione ed il loro effetto sulla soddisfazione coniugale, nonché lo studio degli effetti che le differenze nel contagio emotivo giocano all’interno di tali dinamiche. Sulla base delle ricerche precedenti, abbiamo ipotizzato che la rivalutazione, rispetto alla soppressione, si associa ad una maggiore soddisfazione coniugale e, dato il ruolo del contagio emotivo nell’aumentare la convergenza emotiva, esso sia in grado di moderare positivamente tale relazione. Data la natura diadica del fenomeno, abbiamo utilizzato il modello di analisi APIM (ActorPartner Interdependent Model) che permette di analizzare l’effetto di entrambi i partner sulla variabile di interesse. Le analisi sono state condotte con SPSS. I risultati della ricerca confermano le nostre ipotesi: la rivalutazione cognitiva di entrambi i partner si associa ad una maggiore soddisfazione coniugale rispetto alla soppressione che, invece, determina un suo importante decremento. Sorprendentemente il contagio emotivo di entrambi i partner modera negativamente la relazione tra rivalutazione e soddisfazione coniugale ed in particolare solo per bassi livelli di contagio. Probabilmente, questo risultato è dovuto al fatto che la strategia rivalutativa porta già con sé una abilità, cognitivamente determinata, a regolare le proprie interazioni sociali e che, di conseguenza, essa non abbia bisogno di interagire con altre abilità emotive, come il contagio, per aumentare il suo potere predittivo della soddisfazione coniugale