Epithelial morphogenesis in the perinatal mouse uterus.

BACKGROUND: The uterus is the location where multiple events occur that are required for the start of new life in mammals. The adult uterus contains endometrial or uterine glands that are essential for female fertility. In the mouse, uterine glands are located in the lateral and antimesometrial regions of the uterine horn. Previous three-dimensional (3D)-imaging of the adult uterus, its glands, and implanting embryos has been performed by multiple groups, using fluorescent microscopy. Adenogenesis, the formation of uterine glands, initiates after birth. Recently, we created a 3D-staging system of mouse uterine gland development at postnatal time points, using light sheet fluorescent microscopy. Here, using a similar approach, we examine the morphological changes in the epithelium of the perinatal mouse uterus. RESULTS: The uterine epithelium exhibits dorsoventral (mesometrial-antimesometrial) patterning as early as 3 days after birth (P3), marked by the presence of the dorsally positioned developing uterine rail. Uterine gland buds are present beginning at P4. Novel morphological epithelial structures, including a ventral ridge and uterine segments were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The perinatal mouse uterine luminal epithelium develops dorsal-ventral morphologies at 3 to 4 days postpartum. Between 5 and 6 days postpartum uterine epithelial folds form, defining alternating left-right segments.

What Can Vampires Teach Us about Immunology?

Speculative fiction examines the leading edge of science and can be used to introduce ideas into the classroom. For example, most students are already familiar with the fictional infectious diseases responsible for vampire and zombie outbreaks. The disease dynamics of these imaginary ailments follow the same rules we see for real diseases and can be used to remind students that they already understand the basic rules of disease ecology and immunology. By engaging writers of this sort of fiction in an effort to solve problems in immunology we may be able to perform a directed evolution experiment where we follow the evolution of plots rather than genetic traits.

Deviant burials and social identity in a postmedieval Polish cemetery: An analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the "vampires" of Drawsko.

OBJECTIVES: Deviant burials can reveal important information about both social and individual identity, particularly when the mortuary record is supplemented by an examination of skeletal remains. At the postmedieval (17th to 18th c. AD) cemetery of Drawsko (Site 1), Poland, six individuals (of n = 285) received deviant, anti-vampiristic mortuary treatment. A previous study using radiogenic strontium isotope ratios ( x¯= 0.7112 ± 0.0006, 1σ, n = 60) found that these "vampires" were in fact locals, not migrants to the region targeted for deviant burial due to their status as immigrant outsiders. However, considerable geologic overlap in strontium isotope ratios across the North European Plain may have masked the identification of at least some nonlocal individuals. This study further contextualizes strontium isotope ratios using additional biogeochemical data to test the hypothesis that additional nonlocals were present in the Drawsko cemetery. METHODS: Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the dental enamel of 58 individuals interred in both normative and atypical burials at Drawsko were analyzed. RESULTS: Both δ18 Oc(VPDB) ( x¯= -4.5 ± 0.7‰) and δ13 Cap isotope values ( x¯= -13.6 ± 0.8‰) displayed little variability and were not significantly different between vampire and normative burials, supporting prior strontium results of a largely local population. Nevertheless, homogeneity in oxygen isotope values across other northern European sites makes it difficult to speculate about isotopic regional diversity, leaving open the possibility that additional migrants to the region remain undetected. Additionally, carbon isotope values point to a locally sourced diet dominated by C3 resources but with some supplementation by C4 goods that likely included millet, fitting with historic descriptions of postmedieval diet in Poland. CONCLUSIONS: Those interred as vampires appear local to the region and thus likely underwent deviant funerary treatment due to some other social stigma not apparent from the skeleton.

Myth or relict: Does ancient DNA detect the enigmatic Upland seal?

The biological status of the so-called 'Upland seal' has remained contentious ever since historical records described a distinct seal from the uplands of New Zealand's (NZ) remote sub-Antarctic islands. Subsequent genetic surveys of the NZ fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) detected two highly-divergent mtDNA clades, hypothesized to represent a post-sealing hybrid swarm between 'mainland' (Australia-NZ; A. forsteri) and sub-Antarctic (putative 'Upland'; A. snaresensis) lineages. We present ancient-DNA analyses of prehistoric mainland NZ and sub-Antarctic fur seals, revealing that both of these genetic lineages were already widely distributed across the region at the time of human arrival. These findings indicate that anthropogenic factors did not contribute to the admixture of these lineages, and cast doubt on the validity of the Upland seal. Human-mediated impacts on Arctocephalus genetic diversity are instead highlighted by a dramatic temporal haplotype frequency-shift due to genetic drift in heavily bottlenecked populations following the cessation of industrial-scale harvesting. These extinction-recolonisation dynamics add to a growing picture of human-mediated change in NZ's coastal and marine ecosystems.

Water spirits within the fishers' worldview: implications for fishing management in Northeast Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Historically, aquatic environments are linked to the worldview of many local people, where there is an interconnection between the natural world, the supernatural, and the social organization. In this study, we provided a discussion on how the supernatural beings that inhabit the freshwater systems interact with artisanal fishers and fishing resources in the riverine community of Parnaíba River middle course, in Mid North of Northeast Brazil. We also provided the implications of these interactions on the fisher's behaviors and how the acculturation process (e.g., introduction of new religions) can affect the fishers' worldview. METHOD: The selection of participants was done through intentional sampling. The content qualitative analysis was carried out to interpret the data from semi-structured interviews with 29 artisanal fishers. RESULTS: The mythical representations that inhabit the aquatic environments in the surveyed area were as follows: Mãe d' água, Cabeça de cuia, Muleque d'água, Visage, Piratinga, Sucuiuiu, and Luz e Arco-íris. These beings have distinctions regarding the form and attributions and can be associated with seasonality (temporal markers) and specific habitats (spatial markers). The respect and fear feeling of the mythical beings were striking among the fishers interviewed. For instance, we have record offering practices in order to obtain protection and success during the fisheries. These practices suggest that there may be local conservationist habits in fisheries management. However, the advancement of urbanization and the introduction of new religions that deny the existence of mythical entities are factors that can generate the acculturation process among the fishers. CONCLUSIONS: It is therefore necessary to carry out more studies in the surveyed area in order to evaluate the existence of possible patterns in the relationship between fisher and mythical beings. This information could confirm the role of mythical beings as environmental regulators. Consequently, it could be considered in the conservationist policies of fishery resources, reinforcing the importance of local knowledge and cultural factors for fishing management approaches.

DNA Testing Reveals the Putative Identity of JB55, a 19th Century Vampire Buried in Griswold, Connecticut.

In 1990 in Griswold, Connecticut, archaeologists excavated a burial found in a "skull and crossbones" orientation. The lid of the 19th century coffin had brass tacks that spelled "JB55", the initials of the person lying there and age at death. JB55 had evidence of chronic pulmonary infection, perhaps tuberculosis. It is possible that JB55 was deemed a vampire due to his disease, and therefore had to be "killed" by mutilating his corpse. In an attempt to reveal the identity of JB55, DNA testing was performed. Ancestry informative single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis using the Precision ID Ancestry Panel indicated European ancestry. A full Y-chromosomal short tandem repeat (Y-STR) profile was obtained, belonging to haplogroup R1b. When the Y-STR profile was searched in the publicly accessible FamilyTreeDNA R1b Project website, the two closest matches had the surname "Barber". A search of historical records led to a death notice mentioning John Barber, whose son Nathan Barber was buried in Griswold in 1826. The description of Nathan Barber closely fits the burial of "NB13," found near JB55. By applying modern forensic DNA tools to a historical mystery, the identity of JB55 as John Barber, the 19th century Connecticut vampire, has been revealed.

Vírus e fissuras orofaciais: um histórico isolado e de associação / Viruses and orofacial clefts: an isolated and associational history / Virus y fisuras orofaciales: una historia aislada y asociativa

Os vírus são microrganismos comumente associados as doenças e infectam todos os seres vivos. Atuam de forma direta e indireta levando a pressão seletiva, com papel significativo e ainda em exploração no planeta. As fissuras orofaciais são anomalias congênitas de etiologia complexa e multifatorial, sendo as infecções virais durante a gestação um dos possíveis fatores etiológicos. A história da humanidade frente aos vírus e fissuras orofaciais de forma isolada é vasta, remontando a períodos antes de Cristo, seja por meio de leis para o controle de pragas e/ou por lendas de míticas criaturas deificadas e/ou demonizadas, cuja criação está fundamentada na Teoria Alegórica do surgimento das mitologias, demonstrando assim o interesse do ser humano e sua curiosidade em inovação e explicação destes assuntos. Considerando a relevância histórica, bem como a possível relação etiológica destes dois elementos, uma revisão da literatura foi realizada para apresentar a história mitológica e científica dos vírus e fissuras orofaciais, de forma isolada e associadas para fins de comparação. Para isso, foram utilizadas as bases PubMed/Medline, SciElo, LILACS e Portal Periódicos (CAPES) com os descritores: Virus, Anomalias/Anomalies, Virus and Anomalias/Virus and Anomalies, A History of viruses/História dos vírus, Virus and History/História and Virus, Virus and Myth/Virus and Mito, Anomalias and Mitos/Anomalies and Myths, Vampires and Virus/Vampiros and Virus. Enquanto o histórico mitológico é cheio de teorias contraditórias, o histórico cientifico acadêmico se revela coerente, porém resistente as novas áreas de atuação, não ponderando novas possibilidades e limitando a exploração científica, que só pôde ser alcançada nos séculos atuais. Quanto a associação, a linha de pesquisa relacionando vírus e fissuras orofaciais não possui nem meio século de existência, propiciando um grande campo a ser explorado e na mesma medida limitando os benefícios em prevenção que poderiam ser obtidos através destes estudos.

Viruses are microorganisms commonly associated with diseases that infect all living beings, they act directly and indirectly leading to selective pressure, their role on the planet is significant and still under exploration. Orofacial clefts are congenital anomalies that have a complex multifactorial etiology, with viral infections during pregnancy being one of the possible etiological factors. The history of humanity in the face of viruses and orofacial clefts in isolation is vast, dating back to periods before Christ, whether through laws for pest control and/or legends of mythical deified and/or demonized creatures, whose creation is fundamentalized in the Allegorical Theory of the emergence of mythologies, thus demonstrating the interest of human beings and their curiosity in innovation and explanation of these subjects. Considering the historical relevance, as well as the possible etiology relationship of these two elements, we carried out a literature review to present the mythological and scientific history of viruses and orofacial clefts, isolated and associated for comparison purposes. For this intent, the bases PubMed/Medline, SciElo, LILACS and Portal Periódicos (CAPES) were selected with the descriptors: A History of viruses/História dos vírus, Virus and History/História and Virus, Virus and Myth/Virus and Mito, Anomalias and Mitos/Anomalies and Myths, Vampires and Virus/Vampiros and Virus. While the mythological history is full of contradictory theories, the academic, scientific history proves to be consistent, but resistant to new areas of action, not considering new possibilities and limiting scientific exploration, which can only be achieved in the present centuries. As for the association, the line of research relating viruses and orofacial clefts does not even have half a century of existence, providing a large field to be explored and at the same time limiting the benefits of prevention that could be obtained through these studies.

Los virus son microorganismos comúnmente asociados a enfermedades que infectan a todos los seres vivos, actúan directa e indirectamente provocando presión selectiva, su papel en el planeta es significativo y aún en exploración. Las hendiduras orofaciales son anomalías congénitas que tienen una compleja etiología multifactorial, siendo las infecciones virales durante el embarazo uno de los posibles factores etiológicos. La historia de la humanidad frente a los virus y las hendiduras orofaciales de forma aislada es vasta, remontándose a períodos anteriores a Cristo, ya sea a través de leyes para el control de plagas y/o leyendas de criaturas míticas deificadas y/o demonizadas, cuya creación se fundamentaliza en la Teoría Alegórica del surgimiento de las mitologías, demostrando así el interés del ser humano y su curiosidad en la innovación y explicación de estos temas. Considerando la relevancia histórica, así como la posible relación etiológica de estos dos elementos, realizamos una revisión bibliográfica para presentar la historia mitológica y científica de los virus y las hendiduras orofaciales, aislados y asociados para fines de comparación. Para ello, se seleccionaron las bases PubMed/Medline, SciElo, LILACS y Portal Periódicos (CAPES) con los descriptores: A History of viruses/História dos vírus, Virus and History/História and Virus, Virus and Myth/Virus and Mito, Anomalias and Mitos/Anomalías y Mitos, Vampiros and Virus/Vampiros y Virus. Mientras que la historia mitológica está llena de teorías contradictorias, la historia académica, científica, se muestra coherente, pero resistente a nuevos campos de actuación, no considerando nuevas posibilidades y limitando la exploración científica, que sólo puede alcanzarse en los siglos actuales. En cuanto a la asociación, la línea de investigación que relaciona virus y hendiduras orofaciales no tiene ni medio siglo de existencia, proporcionando un gran campo a ser explorado y al mismo tiempo limitando los beneficios de prevención que podrían ser obtenidos a través de estos estudios.

She bought the unicorn from the pet store: Six- to seven-year-olds are strongly inclined to generate natural explanations.

In two experiments (N = 64), we told 6- to 7-year-olds about improbable or impossible outcomes (Experiment 1) and about impossible outcomes concerning ordinary or magical agents (Experiment 2). In both experiments, children claimed that the outcomes were impossible and could not happen, but nonetheless generated realistic and natural explanations for the outcomes. These findings show that 6- to 7-year-olds are strongly inclined to provide natural explanations. The findings are also informative about children's judgments about whether outcomes are possible, and further suggest that asymmetries between children's predictions and explanations may stem from differences in how these 2 forms of reasoning are constrained by possibility. (PsycINFO Database Record

Self-Identified Vampirism and Risk for False Positives: A Case Example of Team Homicide and Implications for Forensic Behavioral Science.

Historically, reported cases of self-identified vampirism typically have been associated with psychopathology and sometimes a propensity for violence. However, scholars recently have noted a wide range of diverse practices and meanings that all fall under the general description of self-identified vampirism. This brief report focuses on a homicide case (male and female partnered offenders), wherein a single victim was murdered and dismembered. Due to specific case evidence, there was controversy regarding whether or not the homicide was motivated by ritualistic self-identified vampirism. Court documents were reviewed and assessed, and findings suggest that the evidence used to support assertions that homicidal motivations occurred due to ritualistic vampirism was misinterpreted due to the omission of a growing multidisciplinary literature on self-identified vampirism. It is important for forensic experts to be aware of emerging research on alternative identities, including vampirism, that challenge traditional theories and assumptions.

Escuta clínica e o conto de fadas: relato de experiência no atendimento à criança institucionalizada / La escucha clínica y el cuento de hadas: relato de experiencia en el cuidado de niños institucionalizados / Clinical listening and the fairy tale: experience report in caring for institutionalized children / L'écoute clinique et le conte de fées: rapport d'expérience dans la prise en charge d'enfants institutionnalisés

A escuta clínica de crianças em contextos institucionais, como os serviços de acolhimento, tem suscitado debates no campo do Sistema Único de Assistência Social. Assim, o objetivo do presente estudo é relatar a experiência de atendimento à criança em acolhimento institucional. Reflete-se, pois, sobre a possibilidade da escuta clínica, a partir da utilização do conto de fadas como recurso terapêutico. Para tanto, apresenta-se fragmentos de um caso atendido, pela primeira autora, em uma instituição de acolhimento para crianças e adolescentes em um município do estado do Pará. Compreende-se que é possível a criação de espaços de falas, a partir de recursos favorecedores da expressão da criança (conto de fadas) em outros campos de atuação do psicólogo (acolhimento institucional), flexibilizando o enquadramento de atendimento na perspectiva da clínica psicanalítica e ampliada

La escucha clínica de los niños en contextos institucionales, como las guarderías, ha suscitado debates en el ámbito del Sistema Único de Asistencia Social. Así, el objetivo de este estudio es reportar la experiencia del cuidado de niños en instituciones de cuidado. Por tanto, reflexiona sobre la posibilidad de la escucha clínica, a partir del uso del cuento de hadas como recurso terapéutico. Por tanto, fragmentos de un caso atendido por el primer autor se presentan en un albergue para niños y adolescentes de un municipio del estado de Pará, favoreciendo la expresión del niño (cuento de hadas) en otros campos de trabajo del psicólogo (atención institucional), flexibilizando el encuadre del cuidado en la perspectiva de la clínica psicoanalítica y ampliada

The clinical listening of children in institutional contexts, such as childcare services, has raised debates in the field of the Unified Social Assistance System. Thus, the aim of this study is to report the experienceof caring for children in institutional care. Therefore, it reflects on the possibility of clinical listening, from the use of the fairy tale as a therapeutic resource. Therefore, fragments of a case attended by the first author are presented in a shelterfor children and adolescents in a municipality in the state of Pará. It's understood that it is possible to create spaces for speech, from resources that favor the child's expression (fairy tale) in other fields of activity of the psychologist (institutional care), making the framing of care in the perspective of psychoanalytic clinic and extended

L'écoute clinique des enfants dans des contextes institutionnels, tels que les services de garde d'enfants, a soulevé des débats dans le domaine du Système Unifié d'Assistance Sociale. Ainsi, le but de cette étude est de rapporter l'expérience de prise en charge d'enfants en institution. Dès lors, il réfléchit à la possibilité d'une écoute clinique, à partir de l'utilisation du conte de fées comme ressource thérapeutique. Par conséquent, des fragments d'un cas assisté par le premier auteur sont présentés dans un foyer pour enfants et adolescents dans une municipalité de l'État du Pará favorisant l'expression de l'enfant (conte de fées) dans d'autres domaines de travail du psychologue (soins institutionnels ), assouplir le cadrage des soins dans la perspective de la clinique psychanalytique et étendue

Fantastic species and where to find them.

Fantastic beasts are not only found in the imaginary worlds of authors like J.K. Rowling. The oceans are full of them. Michael Gross rounds up some unusual suspects.

Pestilence, riots, lynchings and desecration of corpses. The sleep of reason produces monsters.

Vampirism has been a component of Central European and Balkan folklore since the Middle Ages and was often believed to be responsible for the transmission of serious infectious diseases such as plague and tuberculosis/consumption. Vampirism was believed to be spread within the same family or village and if the rite of the so-called second burial after death was not performed. The practice of "second burial" entailed exhumation of the body and the removal of the shroud from the mouth of the corpse, and a search for evidence if the corpse had chewed the cloth. If the shroud was chewed, a handful of earth or a brick was put into the body's mouth so that the vampire could no longer harm others. In some cases, the corpse was decapitated and an awl, made of ash, was thrust into its chest. Furthermore, the limbs were nailed down to prevent its movements. Remarkably, these beliefs were not restricted to the popular classes, but were also debated by theologians, political scientists at the height of the eighteenth century (Enlightenment). In the Habsburg Empire, this question attained such important political, social as well as health connotations as to force the Empress Maria Theresa to entrust an ad hoc study to her personal physician Gerard van Swieten with a view to determining what was true about the apparitions of vampires that occurred throughout central Europe and in the Balkans. The result of this investigation led to a ban on the "second burial" rites. Despite this prohibition, the practice of necrophilia on the bodies of suspected people continued, and both a cultured and popular literature on vampirism continued to flourish well into the nineteenth century.

Repressed ghosts and dissociated vampires in the enacted dimension of psychoanalytic treatment.

One of the most evocative uses of the metaphor of a ghost in psychoanalytic writing was crafted by Hans Loewald in "On the Therapeutic Action of Psycho-Analysis" (1960). In this seminal work, Loewald likened the process of psychoanalytic change to that of transforming psychic ghosts into ancestors. In the present paper, the author supplements the metaphor of ghosts that haunt with the metaphor of vampires that menace, and links these two alien experiences to two psychological processes: repression and dissociation. Descriptions of ghosts and vampires in folklore, and the ways they are experienced in analytic treatment, are followed by an explication of the enacted dimension of analytic process-the arena of treatment in which all demons are inevitably revivified, "recognized," and ultimately laid to rest. The paper includes a clinical illustration of a dissociated vampire: a Holocaust trauma transmitted across three generations of survivors.

O corpo transgênero em animações e quadrinhos: uma análise psicossocial / The transgender body in animations and comics: a psychosocial analysis / El cuerpo transgénero en animaciones y historietas: un análisis psicosocial

Investigação de significado e sentidos acerca do corpo transgênero em animações e quadrinhos infantojuvenis., utilizando pressupostos téorico-metodológicos da Psicologia Social e dos Estudos de Gênero. Realiza uma análise qualitativa, descritivo-interpretativa, das personagens ficcionais Verônica de Nasu, Trio Amazonas, Sailors Starlights, SheZow, Princesa Biscoito e Unicórnio Donny. Os resultados evidenciam que "Verônica e Trio Amazonas" reconfiguram suas transexualidades como acesso à maldade; "Sailor Starlights" se utilizam da estratégia de disfarce transgênero; "SheZow" se torna heroína, em um contexto de significações pautadas nos binarismos masculino e feminino; e a "Princesa Biscoito e Unicórnio Donny" se apresentam como personagens questionadores aos padrões cisnormativos de comportamento e de imagem corporal. Conclui-se que a pluralidade identitária, as significações históricas e culturais dessas obras permitem diversos sentidos ao corpo transexual.

This research is about meanings and senses of transgender body in animations and comics for children and young. Theoretical and methodological assumptions of Social Psychology and Gender Studies are used on it. Performs a qualitative analysis, descriptive and interpretative, on fictional characters Veronica Nasu, Amazon Trio, Sailors Starlights, SheZow, Cookie Princess and Donny Unicorn (Powerpuff Girls). The results show "Veronica and Trio Amazonas" reconfigure their transexualities as access to wickedness; "Sailor Starlights" use the strategy of transgender; "SheZow" becomes heroine in a context of meanings based on masculine and feminine binarisms and "Princess Cookie and Unicorn Donny" present themselves as questioning to the cisnormative patterns of behavior and body image. It is concluded that a plurality of identities, historical and cultural significance allowing different senses to the transexual body.

La investigación del significado y sentido sobre el cuerpo transgénero en las animaciones y historietas para niños y jóvenes. Utiliza los supuestos teóricos/ metodológicos de la Psicología Social y Estudios de Género. Lleva a cabo un análisis cualitativo, descriptivo-interpretativo, de caracteres Verónica Nasu, Amazon Trio, Sailors Star Lights, SheZow, Princesa Galleta y Unicornio Donny. Los resultados muestran "Verónica y Amazon Trio" reconfiguran sus transexualidades como el acceso al mundo del mal; "Sailor Starlights", para usar la estrategia disfraz transgénero; "SheZow" se convierte en la heroína, en un contexto de significados guiadas en binarismos masculinos y femeninos y "Princesa Galleta y del Unicornio Donny" aparecer como interrogadores de los cisnormativos patrones de comportamiento y cuerpo. Concluye pluralidad de identidad; significado histórico y cultural de las obras que permiten diversos sentidos al cuerpo transexual.