A hypothesized need to form and maintain strong, stable interpersonal relationships is evaluated in light of the empirical literature. The need is for frequent, nonaversive interactions within an ongoing relational bond. Consistent with the belongingness hypothesis, people form social attachments readily under most conditions and resist the dissolution of existing bonds. Belongingness appears to have multiple and strong effects on emotional patterns and on cognitive processes. Lack of attachments is linked to a variety of ill effects on health, adjustment, and well-being. Other evidence, such as that concerning satiation, substitution, and behavioral consequences, is likewise consistent with the hypothesized motivation. Several seeming counterexamples turned out not to disconfirm the hypothesis. Existing evidence supports the hypothesis that the need to belong is a powerful, fundamental, and extremely pervasive motivation.

The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation.

The measurement of meaning

Interest in the role of the microbiome in human health has burgeoned over the past decade with the advent of new technologies for interrogating complex microbial communities. The large-scale dynamics of the microbiome can be described by many of the tools and observations used in the study of population ecology. Deciphering the metagenome and its aggregate genetic information can also be used to understand the functional properties of the microbial community. Both the microbiome and metagenome probably have important functions in health and disease; their exploration is a frontier in human genetics.

/pdf/the-human-microbiome-at-the-interface-of-health-and-disease-8umvuebp9h.pdf

The human microbiome: at the interface of health and disease

In this review, we have examined the biochemical and toxic responses produced by halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons and have tried to develop a model for their mechanism of action. These compounds bind to a cellular receptor and evoke a sustained pleiotropic response. In many tissues this response consists of the expression of a battery of enzymes which are, for the most part, involved in drug metabolism, but in other tissues, those which develop toxicity, an additional set of genes is expressed which effects cellular involution, division, and/or differentiation. The toxicity of these compounds appears to be due to the sustained expression of a normal cellular regulatory system, of which we were previously unaware. In future investigations it is hoped that we will learn the nature and physiologic role of this regulatory system. Only then can we hope to understand the mechanism of toxicity of these compounds.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin and Related Halogenated Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Examination of the Mechanism of Toxicity

The Optics of Human Skin

The Identification of Contact Allergens by Animal Assay. the Guinea Pig Maximization Test

SUMMARY

Quantitative aerobic cultures were obtained from fifty patients with chronic plaques, and from twenty with exudative lesions of atopic dermatitis. In the former, Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from 90% and the density exceeded 1 × 106/cm2 in 45% of the samples. In the exudative form, Staph. aureus was recovered in every case with a mean density of 14 × 106 organisms per cm2. Staph. aureus was the dominant organism not only in the lesions but in nearby clinically normal skin. Despite these high numbers, clinical signs of infection were lacking. Systemic and topical antibiotic therapy pro-duced a profound decrease in Staph. aureus density.



It is proposed that high numbers of Staph. aureus may aggravate the underlying lesion and be the source of Staph. aureus infections in contacts.

Staphylococcus aureus in the lesions of atopic dermatitis

Summary Methods of preparing intact, undenatured sheets of human stratum corneum are described. The epidermis of split or full-thickness skin is first separated by exposure to ammonia fumes or heat at 60 C. The horny layer is then isolated by incubating in dilute trypsin solution. Cantharidin blisters provide a convenient way of obtaining stratum corneum from living subjects with minimum discomfort and no scarring.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/DERM/articlepdf/528304/archderm_88_6_005.pdf

Preparation of isolated sheets of human stratum corneum.

Daily topical application of 0.05% tretinoin in a cream base was compared with its vehicle with regard to moderation of photoaging changes of the face and forearms. In comparison with the control tissue, tretinoin-treated tissue examined by light and electron microscopy showed the following effects: replacement of the atrophic epidermis by hyperplasia, elimination of dysplasia and atypia, eradication of microscopic actinic keratoses, uniform dispersion of melanin granules, new collagen formation in the papillary dermis, new vessel formation (angiogenesis), and exfoliation of retained horn in the follicles. Physiologic studies demonstrated: increased blood flow and dermal clearance, increased transepidermal water loss, and greater permeability and reactivity. It was concluded that topical tretinoin is capable of at least partly reversing the structural damages of excessive sunlight exposure and may be useful in decelerating the photoaging process.

Albert M. Kligman

Papers

The Identification of Contact Allergens by Animal Assay. the Guinea Pig Maximization Test

Staphylococcus aureus in the lesions of atopic dermatitis

Preparation of isolated sheets of human stratum corneum.

Topical tretinoin for photoaged skin

The Identification of Contact Allergens by Human Assay: III. The Maximization Test: A Procedure for Screening and Rating Contact Sensitizers