Selection pressures proposed to account for the convergent evolution of self/not-self recognition systems in lower organisms include defense against microbial parasites and somatic cell variants. Direct support for the existence of somatic cell parasites in natural populations has been lacking. I here report the occurrence of a somatic cell parasite in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium muco...

Somatic symptoms tend to increase during early adolescence and although youth's social environments and emotional functioning play a role in somatic symptoms, few studies have examined mechanisms through which social interaction could influence youth's somatic wellbeing. Participants were 132 youth (61.6% girls, Mage = 12.61 years, 84.7% Caucasian) and their mothers. Reciprocated best-friend dy...

INTRODUCTION Studies of mortality and somatic well-being after sex-reassignment surgery (SRS) of transsexual individuals are equivocal. Accordingly, the present study investigated mortality and somatic morbidity using a sample of transsexual individuals who comprised 98% (n = 104) of all surgically reassigned transsexual individuals in Denmark. AIMS To investigate somatic morbidity before and...

Somatic complaints can be important features of an individual's expression of anxiety. Anxiety-related traits are also risk factors for somatic symptoms. However, it is not known which neuroanatomical mechanisms may be responsible for this relationship. In this study, our first step was to use voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approaches to investigate the neuroanatomical basis underlying somatic c...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of child temperament, maternal psychologic symptoms, maternal chronic pain, and parenting stress on children's somatic complaints. METHODS The study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort study. Child somatic complaints were assessed via mother-report in 5,171 children of 18 months of age. Questionnaires assessed maternal somatic ...

Hormonal, metabolic and immunological changes occurring during pregnancy have significant effects on the function of the skin. Psoriasis is one of the most common dermatological diseases and it is known as a nonspecific dermatosis in pregnancy. The aim of this article is to present the importance of support in the course of psoriasis in pregnant women. Psoriasis may cause recurrent miscarriages...

OBJECTIVE Determine if somatic tinnitus patients with hyperacusis have different characteristics from those without hyperacusis. PATIENTS AND METHODS 172 somatic tinnitus patients with (n = 82) and without (n = 90) hyperacusis referred to the Tinnitus Unit of Sapienza University of Rome between June 2012 and June 2016 were compared for demographic characteristics, tinnitus features, self-admi...

OBJECTIVE To examine the influence of parental solicitousness on self-reported somatic complaints in school-age children. DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Participants were 564 children (mean age 10 years) and their parents. Children completed self-report measures of somatic complaints, parental solicitousness, depressiveness, fear, and sense of coherence. Somatic complaints were assessed aga...

Somatic cycloheximide-resistant mutants of syngen 1 of Tetrahymena pyriformis were isolated and genetically characterized. Two properties of the mutants were independently examined: (a) The transmission of the mutant phenotype during conjugation and (b) the kinetics of phenotypic assortment during vegetative propagation. The results of both studies strongly support the idea that these somatic m...