Grief and bereavement beliefs and their associations with death anxiety and complicated grief in a U.S. college student sample.

This study examined beliefs about grief and bereavement, and how the endorsement of myths is related to death anxiety and complicated grief. Results from a sample of college students in the United States (N = 391) suggested that myths about grief and bereavement are prevalent in this group. Additionally, the endorsement of certain myths significantly explained both death anxiety and complicated grief. Findings from this study provide additional support for death education in college and university settings to promote grief literacy. Implications for education, advocacy, research, and practice are discussed.

Synthesis and photophysical characterization of fluorescent indole nucleoside analogues.

Fluorescent nucleosides are useful chemical tools for biochemical research and are frequently incorporated into nucleic acids for a variety of applications. The most widely utilized fluorescent nucleoside is 2-aminopurine-2'-deoxyribonucleoside (2APN). However, 2APN is limited by a moderate Stokes shift, molar extinction coefficient, and quantum yield. We recently reported 4-cyanoindole-2'-deoxyribonucleoside (4CIN), which offers superior photophysical characteristics in comparison to 2APN. To further improve upon 4CIN, a focused library of additional analogues combining the structural features of 2APN and 4CIN were synthesized and their photophysical properties were quantified. Nucleosides 2-6 were found to possess diverse photophysical properties with some features superior to 4CIN. In addition, the structure-function relationship data gained from 1-6 can inform the design of next-generation fluorescent indole nucleosides.

Coping methods and college adjustment in a sample of U.S. Undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To examine the associations between coping methods and college adjustment among a sample of U.S. undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: We used a sample of 117 undergraduate students between the age of 18-25 years old. Approximately 76% of the sample identified as women and 58% identified as White. Methods: Participants completed online questionnaires that assessed the use of forward-focused coping, trauma-focused coping, and several domains of college adjustment (i.e., academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment, and attachment). We used multiple regression to identify the association between coping methods and college adjustment, using race and gender as control variables. Results: Forward-focused coping methods were significantly and positively related to academic adjustment, social adjustment, and attachment, while and trauma-focused coping methods were significantly and negatively related to personal-emotional adjustment. Conclusions: The use of forward-focused coping methods may be beneficial for undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Role of Objectification in College Women's Substance Misuse and Sexual Risk.

Sexism and objectification present major challenges for mental and physical health among women. Scholars have called for research to identify mechanisms that underlie these associations as well as to delineate factors to target in prevention and intervention efforts. This study aimed to build on central tenets of objectification theory through its examination of sexist experiences in relation to body surveillance, body shame, depressive symptoms, and the health risk behaviors of substance use (i.e., alcohol and drug misuse) and sexual risk (i.e., condom use and number of sexual partners) among a large sample of college student women. We also examined whether body surveillance, body shame, and depressive symptoms would mediate theorized pathways extended to substance use and sexual risk. A sample of 505 full-time college student women ages 18-26 completed an online survey that assessed their health and behaviors. We used structural equation modeling to test mediation hypotheses. Results largely supported hypotheses, extended objectification theory to sexual risk, and expanded upon past research on objectification in relation to substance use. Notably, results of this study provided a more nuanced knowledge of how objectification may lead to increases in sexual risk when assessed by number of sexual partners (but not condom use). Further research is warranted to understand potential explanatory pathways between sexism, objectification, and sexual risk. Findings can inform prevention and intervention efforts to target body surveillance, body shame, and depressive symptoms to attempt to reduce the burden of sexist experiences on women's health.

Bereavement Outcomes for Atheist Individuals: The Role of Spirituality, Discrimination, and Meaning.

The present study applied several concepts typically included in thanatology research to an atheist sample. Atheists are a growing segment of the population in the United States, though little is known about this group. A sample of 355 adults who self-identify as atheist completed an online survey assessing forms of spirituality, anti-atheist discrimination, and meaning reconstruction in order to examine associations between these variables and bereavement outcomes of complicated grief and psychological distress. Results of a multiple regression analysis suggested that spirituality was not related to bereavement outcomes, anti-atheist discrimination was related to poorer bereavement outcomes, while the relationship between meaning reconstruction and bereavement outcomes was mixed. These results provide a foundation for additional exploration of bereavement processes in atheist individuals, and implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Grief and bereavement beliefs among U. S. mental health professionals and the general public.

The present study examined beliefs about grief and bereavement in a sample of mental health professionals and the general public in the United States. In part 1 of this study, we developed a 12-item questionnaire based on extant thanatology literature and expert review. In part 2, 210 participants rated their beliefs about grief and bereavement using this questionnaire. Participants rated most items accurately, and mental health professionals were more likely to answer items accurately compared to the general public. These findings provide support for increasing grief literacy in professional and public domains.

Heat Shock Factor 1 Directly Regulates Postsynaptic Scaffolding PSD-95 in Aging and Huntington's Disease and Influences Striatal Synaptic Density.

PSD-95 (Dlg4) is an ionotropic glutamate receptor scaffolding protein essential in synapse stability and neurotransmission. PSD-95 levels are reduced during aging and in neurodegenerative diseases like Huntington's disease (HD), and it is believed to contribute to synaptic dysfunction and behavioral deficits. However, the mechanism responsible for PSD-95 dysregulation under these conditions is unknown. The Heat Shock transcription Factor 1 (HSF1), canonically known for its role in protein homeostasis, is also depleted in both aging and HD. Synaptic protein levels, including PSD-95, are influenced by alterations in HSF1 levels and activity, but the direct regulatory relationship between PSD-95 and HSF1 has yet to be determined. Here, we showed that HSF1 chronic or acute reduction in cell lines and mice decreased PSD-95 expression. Furthermore, Hsf1(+/-) mice had reduced PSD-95 synaptic puncta that paralleled a loss in thalamo-striatal excitatory synapses, an important circuit disrupted early in HD. We demonstrated that HSF1 binds to regulatory elements present in the PSD-95 gene and directly regulates PSD-95 expression. HSF1 DNA-binding on the PSD-95 gene was disrupted in an age-dependent manner in WT mice and worsened in HD cells and mice, leading to reduced PSD-95 levels. These results demonstrate a direct role of HSF1 in synaptic gene regulation that has important implications in synapse maintenance in basal and pathological conditions.

Death anxiety and death acceptance in atheists and other nonbelievers.

This study explores how age, certainty of belief, belief in science and gender is related to death anxiety and death acceptance. Results from a sample of atheists and other nonbelievers (N = 270) in the United States suggested that age and certainty of belief were significantly related to death anxiety and death acceptance, while belief in science was not a significant predictor. In addition, women reported higher levels of death anxiety compared to men. Implications and directions for future research in death perspectives for atheists and other nonbelievers are discussed.

It's like herding cats: Atheist minority stress, group involvement, and psychological outcomes.

Using minority stress theory with a sample of 522 atheist people from the United States, the present study examined the associations of discrimination, proximal minority stressors (stigma consciousness, internalized antiatheism, outness as atheist), and atheist group involvement with psychological distress and self-esteem. Atheist group involvement was associated positively with outness and self-esteem, and negatively with discrimination. Structural equation modeling indicated that discrimination and stigma consciousness yielded significant positive direct relations with distress, whereas outness yielded a significant negative direct relation with distress. Relatedly, discrimination yielded a significant negative direct relation with self-esteem and outness yielded a significant positive direct relation with self-esteem. There was a significant positive unique indirect relation of antiatheist discrimination with distress via the mediating role of stigma consciousness, but no other proximal variables. Multigroup invariance testing of this model did not yield evidence that the pattern of relations of the minority stressors with mental health outcomes differed significantly between participants who were and who were not involved in an atheist group. Implications of these findings for research, practice, and advocacy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Assessing posttraumatic growth, complicated grief, and psychological distress in bereaved atheists and believers.

The present study examines how meaning and belief in God or god(s) is related to bereavement outcomes. Data from 299 participants residing in the United States indicated that the variables of search for meaning, presence of meaning, and belief in God or god(s) were significantly related to posttraumatic growth, complicated grief, and psychological distress. Results from this study can be used to identify appropriate clinical strategies for mental health practitioners working with bereaved clients and will expand the breadth of literature on bereavement with atheist populations in the United States.

Perceived experiences of atheist discrimination: Instrument development and evaluation.

The present 2 studies describe the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a new instrument, the Measure of Atheist Discrimination Experiences (MADE), which may be used to examine the minority stress experiences of atheist people. Items were created from prior literature, revised by a panel of expert researchers, and assessed psychometrically. In Study 1 (N = 1,341 atheist-identified people), an exploratory factor analysis with 665 participants suggested the presence of 5 related dimensions of perceived discrimination. However, bifactor modeling via confirmatory factor analysis and model-based reliability estimates with data from the remaining 676 participants affirmed the presence of a strong "general" factor of discrimination and mixed to poor support for substantive subdimensions. In Study 2 (N = 1,057 atheist-identified people), another confirmatory factor analysis and model-based reliability estimates strongly supported the bifactor model from Study 1 (i.e., 1 strong "general" discrimination factor) and poor support for subdimensions. Across both studies, the MADE general factor score demonstrated evidence of good reliability (i.e., Cronbach's alphas of .94 and .95; omega hierarchical coefficients of .90 and .92), convergent validity (i.e., with stigma consciousness, ß = .56; with awareness of public devaluation, ß = .37), and preliminary evidence for concurrent validity (i.e., with loneliness ß = .18; with psychological distress ß = .27). Reliability and validity evidence for the MADE subscale scores was not sufficient to warrant future use of the subscales. Limitations and implications for future research and clinical work with atheist individuals are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Exocrine ontogenies: on the development of pancreatic acinar, ductal and centroacinar cells.

This review summarizes our current understanding of exocrine pancreas development, including the formation of acinar, ductal and centroacinar cells. We discuss the transcription factors associated with various stages of exocrine differentiation, from multipotent progenitor cells to fully differentiated acinar and ductal cells. Within the branching epithelial tree of the embryonic pancreas, this involves the progressive restriction of multipotent pancreatic progenitor cells to either a central "trunk" domain giving rise to the islet and ductal lineages, or a peripheral "tip" domain giving rise to acinar cells. This review also discusses the soluble morphogens and other signaling pathways that influence these events. Finally, we examine centroacinar cells as an enigmatic pancreatic cell type whose lineage remains uncertain, and whose possible progenitor capacities continue to be explored.

Overcoming redundancy: an RNAi enhancer screen for morphogenesis genes in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Morphogenesis is an important component of animal development. Genetic redundancy has been proposed to be common among morphogenesis genes, posing a challenge to the genetic dissection of morphogenesis mechanisms. Genetic redundancy is more generally a challenge in biology, as large proportions of the genes in diverse organisms have no apparent loss of function phenotypes. Here, we present a screen designed to uncover redundant and partially redundant genes that function in an example of morphogenesis, gastrulation in Caenorhabditis elegans. We performed an RNA interference (RNAi) enhancer screen in a gastrulation-sensitized double-mutant background, targeting genes likely to be expressed in gastrulating cells or their neighbors. Secondary screening identified 16 new genes whose functions contribute to normal gastrulation in a nonsensitized background. We observed that for most new genes found, the closest known homologs were multiple other C. elegans genes, suggesting that some may have derived from rounds of recent gene duplication events. We predict that such genes are more likely than single copy genes to comprise redundant or partially redundant gene families. We explored this prediction for one gene that we identified and confirmed that this gene and five close relatives, which encode predicted substrate recognition subunits (SRSs) for a CUL-2 ubiquitin ligase, do indeed function partially redundantly with each other in gastrulation. Our results implicate new genes in C. elegans gastrulation, and they show that an RNAi-based enhancer screen in C. elegans can be used as an efficient means to identify important but redundant or partially redundant developmental genes.

Apical constriction: a cell shape change that can drive morphogenesis.

Biologists have long recognized that dramatic bending of a cell sheet may be driven by even modest shrinking of the apical sides of cells. Cell shape changes and tissue movements like these are at the core of many of the morphogenetic movements that shape animal form during development, driving processes such as gastrulation, tube formation, and neurulation. The mechanisms of such cell shape changes must integrate developmental patterning information in order to spatially and temporally control force production-issues that touch on fundamental aspects of both cell and developmental biology and on birth defects research. How does developmental patterning regulate force-producing mechanisms, and what roles do such mechanisms play in development? Work on apical constriction from multiple systems including Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, sea urchin, Xenopus, chick, and mouse has begun to illuminate these issues. Here, we review this effort to explore the diversity of mechanisms of apical constriction, the diversity of roles that apical constriction plays in development, and the common themes that emerge from comparing systems.

Analysis of novel and recurrent mutations responsible for the tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndromes.

The tricho-rhino-phalangeal syndromes (TRPS type I, II, and III) are autosomal dominant disorders sharing the following characteristics: slowly growing and sparse scalp hair, medially thick and laterally thin eyebrows, bulbous tip of the nose, long flat philtrum, thin upper lip with vermilion border, and protruding ears. In addition, individuals with TRPS generally share skeletal and bone anomalies, including shortening of the phalanges and metacarpals (mild to severe brachydactyly), cone-shaped epiphyses, hip dysplasia, and short stature. The etiology of the different types of TRPS can result from either single base pair mutations, or the complete deletion of the TRPS1 gene, which encodes a zinc-finger transcription factor located on chromosomal band 8q24.1. We have identified nine heterozygous mutations, five novel and four recurrent, in unrelated families diagnosed with TRPS. The five novel mutations identified show 1- or 2-bp deletions and a single base substitution, whereas all of the recurrent mutations are single base substitutions. Seven of the nine mutations result in a premature stop codon, leading to a truncated, nonfunctional TRPS1 protein. The final two mutations are missense mutations in the GATA DNA binding zinc finger, which is believed to be important for the protein's normal function.