Neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by progressive loss of particular populations of neurons. Apoptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, including ...Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In this review, we focus on the existing notions relevant to comprehending the apoptotic death process, including the morphological features, mediators and regulators of cellular apoptosis. We also highlight the evidence of neuronal apoptotic death in Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Additionally, we present evidence of potential therapeutic agents that could modify the apoptotic pathway in the aforementioned neurodegenerative diseases and delay disease progression. Finally, we review the clinical trials that were conducted to evaluate the use of anti‐apoptotic drugs in the treatment of the aforementioned neurodegenerative diseases, in order to highlight the essential need for early detection and intervention of neurodegenerative diseases in humans.
Diabetic nephropathy is a common complication of type I and type II diabetes, in which renal glomeruli are destroyed, resulting in renal damage, proteinuria, and hypertension. Apoptosis, autophagy, ...and necroptosis are 3 forms of programmed cell death that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. Apoptosis of podocytes leads to glomerular injury and podocyte depletion, which are associated with proteinuria and glomerular structural damage in diabetic nephropathy. Additionally, epithelial cells in the proximal convoluted tubules also undergo apoptosis in diabetic nephropathy, leading to tubular atrophy, which causes tubular cell depletion and the subsequent formation of atubular glomeruli in association with the loss of renal function. On the other hand, insufficiency of autophagy has been correlated with the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. For instance, decreased autophagic activity has been shown in podocytes of the diabetic kidney, causing variations in podocyte function and subsequent disruption to the glomerular filtration barrier. Furthermore, attenuated autophagic activity has also been demonstrated in proximal tubular cells of the diabetic kidney, resulting in the buildup of impaired molecules and organelles, which are normally broken down by autophagy, leading to proteinuria. Moreover, necroptosis might have a key role in podocyte damage and subsequent decline in diabetic nephropathy. Thus, this article aims to review the mechanisms and effects of programmed cell death in diabetic nephropathy, including the roles of apoptosis, autophagy, and necroptosis.
Although dehumanization research first emerged following the overt and conscious denials of humanity present during war and genocide, modern dehumanization research largely examines more subtle and ...implicit forms of dehumanization in more everyday settings. We argue for the need to reorient the research agenda toward understanding when and why individuals blatantly dehumanize others. We review recent research in a range of contexts suggesting that blatant dehumanization is surprisingly prevalent and potent, uniquely predicting aggressive intergroup attitudes and behavior beyond subtle forms of dehumanization and outgroup dislike, and promoting vicious cycles of conflict.
Despite our many differences, one superordinate category we all belong to is ‘humans’. To strip away or overlook others’ humanity, then, is to mark them as ‘other’ and, typically, ‘less than’. We ...review growing evidence revealing how and why we subtly disregard the humanity of those around us. We then highlight new research suggesting that we continue to blatantly dehumanize certain groups, overtly likening them to animals, with important implications for intergroup hostility. We discuss advances in understanding the experience of being dehumanized and novel interventions to mitigate dehumanization, address the conceptual boundaries of dehumanization, and consider recent accounts challenging the importance of dehumanization and its role in intergroup violence. Finally, we present an agenda of outstanding questions to propel dehumanization research forward.
To deny or overlook the humanity of others is to exclude them from one of the core category memberships that all people share. Still, research suggests that individuals engage in dehumanization surprisingly often, both in subtle ways and, in certain contexts, by blatantly associating other groups with ‘lower’ animals.We review evidence highlighting the plethora of distinct ways in which we dehumanize, the consequences dehumanization imposes on its targets, and intervention efforts to alleviate dehumanization.We provide a framework to think about different operationalizations of dehumanization and consider how researchers’ definitions of dehumanization may shape the conclusions they draw about key questions such as the association between dehumanization and violence.We address a number of theoretical challenges to dehumanization research and lay out several important questions dehumanization researchers need to address in order to propel the field further forward.
Parkinson disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting 0.1–0.2% of the general population. It is a progressive debilitating disorder caused by degeneration of dopaminergic ...neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. It is characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms. Parkinson disease can be caused by mutations in genes that encode proteins involved in the autophagic process, resulting in impaired autophagy. Indeed, autophagy has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease, particularly because its impairment causes the buildup of proteins. Thus, this review aims to provide an overview of Parkinson disease-related genetic mutations and their association with autophagy impairment in Parkinson disease, which can be helpful in improving the understanding of the pathogenesis of Parkinson disease, illustrating the potential therapeutic implications of agents that can enhance autophagy in Parkinson disease. Additionally, we will highlight the essential need for the development of highly sensitive and specific assays for gene-based diagnostic biomarkers. Finally, we will provide an overview on the potential gene-based therapeutic approaches for Parkinson disease, which have been most advanced and are associated with the most common targets being alpha-synuclein (SNCA), leucine-rich repeat kinase-2 (LRRK2), and glucocerebrosidase (GBA).
Debate surrounding the issue of inequality and hierarchy between social groups has become increasingly prominent in recent years. At the same time, individuals disagree about the extent to which ...inequality between advantaged and disadvantaged groups exists. Whereas prior work has examined the ways in which individuals legitimize (or delegitimize) inequality as a function of their motivations, we consider whether individuals' orientation toward group-based hierarchy motivates the extent to which they perceive inequality between social groups in the first place. Across 8 studies in both real-world (race, gender, and class) and artificial contexts, and involving members of both advantaged and disadvantaged groups, we show that the more individuals endorse hierarchy between groups, the less they perceive inequality between groups at the top and groups at the bottom. Perceiving less inequality is associated with rejecting egalitarian social policies aimed at reducing it. We show that these differences in hierarchy perception as a function of individuals' motivational orientation hold even when inequality is depicted abstractly using images, and even when individuals are financially incentivized to accurately report their true perceptions. Using a novel methodology to assess accurate memory of hierarchy, we find that differences may be driven by both antiegalitarians underestimating inequality, and egalitarians overestimating it. In sum, our results identify a novel perceptual bias rooted in individuals' chronic motivations toward hierarchy-maintenance, with the potential to influence their policy attitudes.
Highlights • PCs are the only cerebellar cells labeled for TUNEL and active caspase-3. • Active caspase-3 and ultrastructural apoptotic features appear in ADC and PDC only. • Active caspase-3 surges ...in the ADC prior to its surge in the PDC. • TUNEL labeling characteristic for DNA fragmentation appears first at 6 weeks of age. • Active caspase-3 expression at 2 weeks of age might have non-apoptotic roles.
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•Fabricating nanofibers from cellulose acetate-glycerol-conducting polymer-WO3 NPs.•The polymeric nanofibers are used for gas sensing application.•The sensor is highly sensitive and ...working at room temperature.•The sensor is flexible and having long-term stability and excellent selectivity.
Electrospun nanofibers and solution-casting nanofilms were produced from an environmentally friendly cellulose acetate (CA) blended with glycerol (as an ionic liquid (IL)), mixed with polypyrrole (PPy, a conducting polymer) and doped with tungsten oxide (WO3) nanoparticles. The sensing membranes fabricated were used to detect H2S gas at room temperature and shown to exhibit high performance. The results revealed that the lowest operating temperature of both nanofiber and nanofilm sensors was 20 °C, with a minimum gas detection limit of 1 ppm. Moreover, the sensor exhibits a reasonably fast response, with a minimum average response time of 22.8 and 31.7 s for the proposed nanofiber and nanofilm based sensors, respectively. Furthermore, the results obtained indicated an excellent reproducibility, long-term stability, and low humidity dependence. Such distinctive properties coupled with an easy fabrication technique provide a promising potential to achieve a precise monitoring of harmful H2S gas in both indoor and outdoor atmospheres.
A Psychological Profile of the Alt-Right Forscher, Patrick S.; Kteily, Nour S.
Perspectives on psychological science,
01/2020, Volume:
15, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The 2016 U.S. presidential election coincided with the rise of the “alternative right,” or alt-right. Alt-right associates have wielded considerable influence on the current administration and on ...social discourse, but the movement’s loose organizational structure has led to disparate portrayals of its members’ psychology and made it difficult to decipher its aims and reach. To systematically explore the alt-right’s psychology, we recruited two U.S. samples: An exploratory sample through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (N = 827, alt-right n = 447) and a larger, nationally representative sample through the National Opinion Research Center’s Amerispeak panel (N = 1,283, alt-right n = 71–160, depending on the definition). We estimate that 6% of the U.S. population and 10% of Trump voters identify as alt-right. Alt-right adherents reported a psychological profile more reflective of the desire for group-based dominance than economic anxiety. Although both the alt-right and non-alt-right Trump voters differed substantially from non-alt-right, non-Trump voters, the alt-right and Trump voters were quite similar, differing mainly in the alt-right’s especially high enthusiasm for Trump, suspicion of mainstream media, trust in alternative media, and desire for collective action on behalf of Whites. We argue for renewed consideration of overt forms of bias in contemporary intergroup research.
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