27 research outputs found
Immortality of the soul as an intuitive idea: towards a psychological explanation of the origins of afterlife beliefs
This study tried to investigate if intuitive ideas about the continuation of the Self after death
determine the way people represent the state of being dead, and, in this way, investigate possible
psychological origins of afterlife beliefs, which constitute a recurrent cultural phenomenon.
A semi-structured interview and a self-report questionnaire were used to obtain information on
the experience of imagining oneself as dead and the representation of the dead-I of young adults.
he results suggest that (1) there is a tendency to imagine the state of being dead as a continuation
of the I, even in the absence of explicit afterlife beliefs; (2) perceptual, emotional, epistemic and
desire experiences are associated to the dead-I; (3) the representation of the dead-I seems to be
determined by an interaction between cognitive processes related to self-awareness and theory of
mind, and the cultural afterlife beliefs explicitly learned. A previous alternative hypothesis,
suggesting that simulation constraints were responsible for the emergence of non-reflective
afterlife concepts (Bering, 2002, 2006) is not completely supported by our results. he data
presented here suggest that immortality of the soul might be an intuitive religious concept,
connected to the experience of the Self and to the implicit theorization that the experienced Self
is independent from the body. Future studies should focus on the collection of cross-cultural and
developmental data
Probing key DNA contacts in AraR-mediated transcriptional repression of the Bacillus subtilis arabinose regulon
In the absence of arabinose, the AraR transcription factor represses the expression of genes involved in the utilization of arabinose, xylose and galactose in Bacillus subtilis. AraR exhibits a chimeric organization: the N-terminal DNA-binding region belongs to the GntR family and the C-terminal effector-binding domain is homologous to the GalR/LacI family. Here, the AraRâDNA-binding interactions were characterized in vivo and in vitro. The effect of residue substitutions in the AraR N-terminal domain and of base-pair exchanges into an AraRâDNA-binding operator site were examined by assaying for AraR-mediated regulatory activity in vivo and DNA-binding activity in vitro. The results showed that residues K4, R45 and Q61, located in or near the winged-helix DNA-binding motif, were the most critical amino acids required for AraR function. In addition, the analysis of the various mutations in an AraR palindromic operator sequence indicated that bases G9, A11 and T16 are crucial for AraR binding. Moreover, an AraR mutant M34T was isolated that partially suppressed the effect of mutations in the regulatory cis-elements. Together, these findings extend the knowledge on the nature of AraR nucleoprotein complexes and provide insight into the mechanism that underlies the mode of action of AraR and its orthologues
Spatial Evaluation and Modeling of Dengue Seroprevalence and Vector Density in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dengue is a major public health problem in many tropical regions of the world, including Brazil, where Aedes aegypti is the main vector. We present a household study that combines data on dengue fever seroprevalence, recent dengue infection, and vector density, in three neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during its most devastating dengue epidemic to date. This integrated entomologicalâserological survey showed evidence of silent transmission even during a severe epidemic. Also, past exposure to dengue virus was highly associated with age and living in areas of high movement of individuals and social/commercial activity. No association was observed between household infestation index and risk of dengue infection in these areas. Our findings are discussed in the light of current theories regarding transmission thresholds and relative role of mosquitoes and humans as vectors of dengue viruses
Perspectivas epidemiolĂłgicas, clĂnicas e terapĂȘuticas do transtorno bipolar em comorbidade com o uso de drogas: revisĂŁo de sistemĂĄtica: Epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic perspectives of bipolar disorder in comorbidity with drug use: a systematic review
Conhecida como transtorno manĂaco-depressivo, atualmente possui um novo nome: Transtorno Afetivo Bipolar, visto que com o passar do tempo foi se percebendo que esse transtorno nĂŁo se tratava de uma alteração psicĂłtica, e mais de um prejuĂzo afetivo. O transtorno bipolar possui alguns tipos, nĂŁo se caracterizando em apenas uma forma, sua manifestação varia conforme o indivĂduo e suas tendĂȘncias, disforia e/ou euforia porĂ©m independente da forma expressa o paciente bipolar pode ter sua vida social comprometida, se nĂŁo tratada, visto a irregularidade no estado de humor; bem como pode fazer uso de substĂąncias psicoativas, o que prejudica a sua condição clĂnica. Objetivo central da pesquisa Ă© de apresentar a correlação do transtorno bipolar com o uso de drogas, mediante uma revisĂŁo de literatura integrativa realizada entre os meses de março de 2022 a julho de 2022, atravĂ©s da busca de artigos cientĂficos nos bancos de dados online PubMed, Scielo e Google AcadĂȘmico, utilizando como critĂ©rio de refinamento de pesquisa artigos de todas as lĂnguas publicados entre os anos 2000 e 2022
Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
Implications of water environmental policy for irrigated agriculture in Portugal
This research develops a bio-economic modelling framework for the assessment of agricultural and water policy change implications for irrigated agriculture. It aims to contribute towards the implementation of the Water Framework Directive within the European Union, particularly in regard to the principles of cost recovery of water services and water demand management for irrigation.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo
Towards novel amino acid-base contacts in gene regulatory proteins: AraR--a case study.
AraR is a transcription factor involved in the regulation of carbon catabolism in Bacillus subtilis. This regulator belongs to the vast GntR family of helix-turn-helix (HTH) bacterial metabolite-responsive transcription factors. In this study, AraR-DNA specific interactions were analysed by an in vitro missing-contact probing and validated using an in vivo model. We show that amino acid E30 of AraR, a highly conserved residue in GntR regulators, is indirectly responsible for the specificity of amino acid-base contacts, and that by mutating this residue it will be possible to achieve new specificities towards DNA contacts. The results highlight the importance in DNA recognition and binding of highly conserved residues across certain families of transcription factors that are located in the DNA-binding domain but not predicted to specifically contact bases on the DNA. These new findings not only contribute to a more detailed comprehension of AraR-operator interactions, but may also be useful for the establishment of a framework of rules governing protein-DNA recognition
Functional Domains of the Bacillus subtilis Transcription Factor AraR and Identification of Amino Acids Important for Nucleoprotein Complex Assembly and Effector Binding
The Bacillus subtilis AraR transcription factor represses at least 13 genes required for the extracellular degradation of arabinose-containing polysaccharides, transport of arabinose, arabinose oligomers, xylose, and galactose, intracellular degradation of arabinose oligomers, and further catabolism of this sugar. AraR exhibits a chimeric organization comprising a small N-terminal DNA-binding domain that contains a winged helix-turn-helix motif similar to that seen with the GntR family and a larger C-terminal domain homologous to that of the LacI/GalR family. Here, a model for AraR was derived based on the known crystal structures of the FadR and PurR regulators from Escherichia coli. We have used random mutagenesis, deletion, and construction of chimeric LexA-AraR fusion proteins to map the functional domains of AraR required for DNA binding, dimerization, and effector binding. Moreover, predictions for the functional role of specific residues were tested by site-directed mutagenesis. In vivo analysis identified particular amino acids required for dimer assembly, formation of the nucleoprotein complex, and composition of the sugar-binding cleft. This work presents a structural framework for the function of AraR and provides insight into the mechanistic mode of action of this modular repressor
Regulatory activity of the wild-type AraR protein and mutants E30 and Y5 over an <i>araA-lacZ</i> promoter fusion (wild-type and mutated variants).
a<p>ÎČ-Galactosidase activities of the <i>B. subtilis</i> strains grown in the absence (âara) or presence (+ara) of arabinose. Values represent the average and standard deviation of at least three independent experiments, each assayed in duplicate. MU Miller units.</p>b<p>R.I. (Repression Index) indicates the regulatory activity, calculated as the ratio between values obtained in the presence and in the absence of inducer.</p><p>Regulatory activity of the wild-type AraR protein and mutants E30 and Y5 over an <i>araA-lacZ</i> promoter fusion (wild-type and mutated variants).</p