A Comparison of Hugging Frequency and Its Association with Momentary Mood Before and During COVID-19 Using Ecological Momentary Assessment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a drastic decrease in human social interactions including social touch. One of the most prevalent forms of touch is hugging. Hugging has been demonstrated to benefit both physical and mental well-being. In the present study, we used an ecological momentary assessment approach to assess the relationship between hugging and momentary mood in two independent cohorts sampled prior or during the pandemic. We found that the frequency of hugging was significantly reduced during the pandemic. Using multilevel modeling, we found a significant positive association between momentary mood and daily hugs. This effect was moderated by the cohort, as individuals during the pandemic showed a stronger positive association compared to the cohort sampled prior to the pandemic. While we have to stress that our results are correlational in nature, they potentially indicate that social touch is more beneficial in times of social distancing.

The Association of Embracing with Daily Mood and General Life Satisfaction: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study.

Embracing has several positive health effects, such as lowering blood pressure and decreasing infection risk. However, its association with general life satisfaction and daily mood has not been researched in detail. Here, we used a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) approach to monitor the daily number of embraces and daily mood in a sample of 94 adults over the course of seven days. We found that embracing frequency differed slightly over the week, with embracing occurring more frequently on weekends than on weekdays. We also found that higher daily embracing frequencies were associated with better daily mood using multilevel modeling. Only singles benefitted from increases in average embracing regarding their life satisfaction, whereas individuals in a relationship were unaffected by their embracing tendencies. Although our results are strictly correlational and do not indicate any direction or causality, embraces may be important for daily mood and general life satisfaction, but their efficacy seems to depend on relationship status. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10919-022-00411-8.

Interseccionalidade e rupturas dos modos de vida pelos rompimentos de barragem: reflexões a partir de uma mídia em aderência / Intersectionality and the disruption in the way of living by dam's collapses: observations as of the media in adherence / Interseccionalidad y disrupción de formas de vida por ruptura de presas: reflexiones de un medio en adhesión

É um importante desafio a compreensão do ambiente de violação de direitos a que estão submetidas populações atingidas pelo modelo de desenvolvimento extrativista da mineração. Damos foco aos rompimentos das Barragens de Fundão (Mariana) e Córrego de Feijão (Brumadinho), especialmente às mulheres atingidas ­ elo menos visível dessa cadeia. Além de enfrentarem desigualdade calcada nas relações interseccionais, imposta pelo capitalismo patriarcal, são as que mais lutam pela reconstrução dos seus modos de vida. O principal esforço deste artigo é dar visibilidade à realidade vivida por essas mulheres, suas redes de solidariedade e luta. Por meio da mídia aderente e alternativa do jornal A Sirene, análise documental e entrevistas, buscamos ouvir as vozes dessas mulheres que têm seus direitos negados e sua saúde comprometida em função do insistente descaso das empresas mineradoras. Utilizando os conceitos trazidos nos estudos de Veena Das, como conhecimento venenoso e sofrimento social, realizamos a análise dos resultados.

It is an important challenge to understand the environment of violation of rights to which populations affected by the mining extractive development model are subjected. We focus on the disruptions of the Fundão (Mariana) and Córrego de Feijão dams (Brumadinho), especially to the women affected ­ the least visible link in this chain. In addition to facing the inequality based on intersectional relations, imposed by patriarchal capitalism, they are the ones that fight the most for the reconstruction of their ways of life. The main effort of this article is to give visibility to the reality experienced by these women, their networks of solidarity and the fight. Through the adherent and alternative media of the newspaper A Sirene, document analysis and interviews we seek to hear the voices of these women who have their rights denied and their health compromised due to the insistent neglect of mining companies. Using the concepts brought up in the studies by Veena Das, such as poisonous knowledge and social suffering, we performed the analysis of the results.

Es un desafío importante comprender el entorno de vulneración de derechos al que están sometidas las poblaciones afectadas por el modelo de desarrollo minero extractivo. Nos centramos en las interrupciones de las represas Fundão (Mariana) y Córrego de Feijão (Brumadinho), especialmente en las mujeres afectadas, el eslabón menos visible de esta cadena. Además de enfrentar la desigualdad basada en las relaciones interseccionales, impuesta por el capitalismo patriarcal, son ellos los que más luchan por la reconstrucción de sus formas de vida. El principal esfuerzo de este artículo es dar visibilidad a la realidad que viven estas mujeres, sus redes de solidaridad y la lucha. A través de los medios adherentes y alternativos del diario A Sirene, análisis de documentos y entrevistas, buscamos escuchar las voces de estas mujeres a quienes se les niegan sus derechos y se compromete su salud por el insistente descuido de las empresas mineras. Utilizando los conceptos planteados en los estudios de Veena Das, como el conocimiento venenoso y el sufrimiento social, realizamos el análisis de los resultados.

The Fur homologue BosR requires Arg39 to activate rpoS transcription in Borrelia burgdorferi and thereby direct spirochaete infection in mice.

Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease. In B. burgdorferi, RpoS controls the expression of virulence genes needed for mammalian infection. The Fur homologue BosR regulates the transcription of rpoS and therefore BosR determines, albeit indirectly, the infection status of the spirochaete. Transcription of rpoS in B. burgdorferi is complex: rpoS can be transcribed either from an RpoD-dependent promoter to yield a long transcript or from an RpoN-dependent promoter to yield a short transcript. This study shows that BosR repressed synthesis of the long transcript while at the same time activating synthesis of the short transcript. How BosR does this is unclear. To address this, spirochaetes were engineered to express either BosR or the naturally occurring variant BosRR39K. Mice became infected by the spirochaetes expressing BosR but not by the spirochaetes expressing BosRR39K. Furthermore, the spirochaetes expressing BosR activated rpoS transcription during growth in culture whereas the spirochaetes expressing BosRR39K did not. Thus, BosR's activation of rpoS transcription somehow involves Arg39. This arginine is highly conserved in other FUR proteins and therefore other FUR proteins may also require this arginine to function.

Evidence that two ATP-dependent (Lon) proteases in Borrelia burgdorferi serve different functions.

The canonical ATP-dependent protease Lon participates in an assortment of biological processes in bacteria, including the catalysis of damaged or senescent proteins and short-lived regulatory proteins. Borrelia spirochetes are unusual in that they code for two putative ATP-dependent Lon homologs, Lon-1 and Lon-2. Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, is transmitted through the blood feeding of Ixodes ticks. Previous work in our laboratory reported that B. burgdorferi lon-1 is upregulated transcriptionally by exposure to blood in vitro, while lon-2 is not. Because blood induction of Lon-1 may be of importance in the regulation of virulence factors critical for spirochete transmission, the clarification of functional roles for these two proteases in B. burgdorferi was the object of this study. On the chromosome, lon-2 is immediately downstream of ATP-dependent proteases clpP and clpX, an arrangement identical to that of lon of Escherichia coli. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Lon-1 and Lon-2 cluster separately due to differences in the NH(2)-terminal substrate binding domains that may reflect differences in substrate specificity. Recombinant Lon-1 manifested properties of an ATP-dependent chaperone-protease in vitro but did not complement an E. coli Lon mutant, while Lon-2 corrected two characteristic Lon-mutant phenotypes. We conclude that B. burgdorferi Lons -1 and -2 have distinct functional roles. Lon-2 functions in a manner consistent with canonical Lon, engaged in cellular homeostasis. Lon-1, by virtue of its blood induction, and as a unique feature of the Borreliae, may be important in host adaptation from the arthropod to a warm-blooded host.

Bactericidal action of a complement-independent antibody against relapsing fever Borrelia resides in its variable region.

A single chain variable fragment (scFv) of CB515, a complement-independent bactericidal monoclonal IgM against a relapsing fever Borrelia, was constructed to investigate the region wherein the unique bactericidal function resides. Monomeric CB515 scFv (26 kDa) was capable of binding its Ag on whole organisms and by immunoblot. This binding was shown to be species and serotype-specific to the 19 kDa variable small protein, recognized by its parent monoclonal IgM. A dose-dependent bactericidal effect of the CB515 scFv was detected by direct enumeration of spirochetes. Spirochetes incubated with the CB515 scFv before inoculation into mice grew into escape mutants, whereas spirochetes incubated with an irrelevant scFv developed as the original infecting serotype. This bactericidal effect, as seen at the ultrastructural level, was due to disruption of the outer membrane and to severe membrane blebbing eventually progressing to lysis. These results indicate that the variable region of CB515 is responsible for this bactericidal activity and that the constant region of the Ab is dispensable.

The fur homologue in Borrelia burgdorferi.

Borrelia burgdorferi contains a gene that codes for a Fur homologue. The function of this Fur protein is unknown; however, spirochetes grown at 23 or 35 degrees C expressed fur as determined by reverse transcriptase PCR. The fur gene (BB0647) was cloned and overexpressed as a His-Fur fusion protein in Escherichia coli. The fusion protein was purified by zinc-chelate chromatography, and the N-terminal His tag was removed to generate recombinant Fur for use in mobility shift studies. Fur bound DNA containing the E. coli Fur box sequence (GATAATGATAATCATTATC) or Bacillus subtilis Per box sequence (TTATAAT-ATTATAA) with an apparent Kd of approximately 20 nM. Fur also bound the upstream sequences of three Borrelia genes: BB0646 (gene encoding a hydrolase of the alpha/beta-fold family), BB0647 (fur), and BB0690 (napA). Addition of metal ions was not required. Binding activity was greatly decreased by either exposure to oxidizing agents (H2O2, t-butyl hydroperoxide, cumene hydroperoxide, or diamide) or by addition of Zn2+. B. burgdorferi NapA is a homologue of Dps. Dps functions in E. coli to protect DNA against damage during periods of redox stress. Fur may function in B. burgdorferi as a repressor and regulate oxidative stress genes. Additional genes (10 chromosomal and 15 plasmid) that may be Fur regulated were identified by in silico analysis.

Combined effects of blood and temperature shift on Borrelia burgdorferi gene expression as determined by whole genome DNA array.

Borrelia burgdorferi undergoes differential gene expression during transmission from its tick vector to a vertebrate host. The addition of blood to a spirochete culture at 35 degrees C for 48 h had a dramatic effect on gene expression of this organism. Utilizing B. burgdorferi whole genome DNA arrays, we compared the transcriptomes of the spirochetes following a 2-day temperature shift with blood and without blood. Using combined data from three independent RNA isolations we demonstrated that the addition of blood led to a differential expression of 154 genes. Of these, 75 genes were upregulated, with 49 (65%) of them encoded on plasmids. Blood supplementation of cultures also resulted in the downregulation of 79 genes, where 56 (70%) were plasmid encoded. We verified our results by reverse transcriptase PCR of several genes in both flat and feeding ticks. In the 2-day experiment we observed the effect that exposure to increased temperature and blood combined had on B. burgdorferi gene expression at this crucial time when the spirochetes begin to move from the vector to a new vertebrate host. These changes, among others, coincide with the upregulation of the chemotaxis and sensing regulons, of the lp38-encoded ABC transporter, of proteases capable of remodeling the outer surface of the spirochetes, and of the recombination genes of cp32 as a transient or initial part of the stress response of the phage. These are all functions that could cause or facilitate the changes that spirochetes undergo following a blood meal in the tick.

Whole-genome DNA array analysis of the response of Borrelia burgdorferi to a bactericidal monoclonal antibody.

Identification and characterization of genes that contribute to infection with Borrelia burgdorferi and, of those, genes that are targets of host responses is important for understanding the pathogenesis of Lyme disease. The complement-independent bactericidal monoclonal antibody (MAb) CB2 recognizes a carboxy-terminal, hydrophilic epitope of the outer surface protein B (OspB). CB2 kills B. burgdorferi by an unknown bactericidal mechanism. Upon binding of CB2 to OspB, differentially expressed gene products may be responsible for, or associated with, the death of the organism. A time course of the response of B. burgdorferi to CB2 was completed to analyze the differential gene expression in the bacteria over a period of visual morphological changes. Bacteria were treated with a sublethal concentration in which spirochetes were visibly distressed by the antibody but not lysed. Preliminary whole-genome DNA arrays at various time points within 1 h of incubation of B. burgdorferi with the antibody showed that most significant changes occurred at 25 min. Circular plasmid 32 (cp32)-encoded genes were active in this period of time, including the blyA homologs, phage holin system genes. DNA array data show that three blyA homologs were upregulated significantly, >/==" BORDER="0">2 standard deviations from the mean of the log ratios, and a P value of

Profiling of temperature-induced changes in Borrelia burgdorferi gene expression by using whole genome arrays.

Borrelia burgdorferi is the etiologic agent of Lyme disease, the most prevalent arthropod-borne disease in the United States. The genome of the type strain, B31, consists of a 910,725-bp linear chromosome and 21 linear and circular plasmids comprising 610,694 bp. During its life cycle, the spirochete exists in distinctly different environments, cycling between a tick vector and a mammalian host. Temperature is one environmental factor known to affect B. burgdorferi gene expression. To identify temperature-responsive genes, genome arrays containing 1,662 putative B. burgdorferi open reading frames (ORFs) were prepared on nylon membranes and employed to assess gene expression in B. burgdorferi B31 grown at 23 and 35 degrees C. Differences in expression of more than 3.5 orders of magnitude could be readily discerned and quantitated. At least minimal expression from 91% of the arrayed ORFs could be detected. A total of 215 ORFs were differentially expressed at the two temperatures; 133 were expressed at significantly greater levels at 35 degrees C, and 82 were more significantly expressed at 23 degrees C. Of these 215 ORFs, 134 are characterized as genes of unknown function. One hundred thirty-six (63%) of the differentially expressed genes are plasmid encoded. Of particular interest is plasmid lp54 which contains 76 annotated putative genes; 31 of these exhibit temperature-regulated expression. These findings underscore the important role plasmid-encoded genes may play in adjustment of B. burgdorferi to growth under diverse environmental conditions.