Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Did Descartes Have a Jamesian Theory of the Emotions?

René Descartes and William James had “body first” theories of the passions or emotions, according to which sensory stimulation causes a bodily response that then causes an emotion. Both held that this bodily response also causes an initial behavioral response (such as flight from a bear) without any cognitive intervention such as an “appraisal” of the object or situation. From here they differ. Descartes proposed that the initial processes that produce fear and running are entirely mechanical. Even human beings initially run from the bear as a result of physiological processes alone, without mental contribution. These physiological processes also cause a mental passion, which is a cognitive representation of the situation (as regards novelty, benefit, or harm), and which motivates the will to continue the behavior already in progress. According to James, emotions are caused by instinctive bodily responses that are triggered by noncognitive but nonetheless conscious perceptual states. Emotions are bare feelings of internal physiological stirrings that accompany an instinctual response that has evolved through Darwinian natural selection. Jamesian emotions initially have no motivational or cognitive content, which they subsequently acquire through learning. The methodological legitimacy of comparing these positions across the centuries is defended, and the two theories are compared to recent theories.
Acoustical barriers in classrooms: the impact of noise on performance in the classroom

There is general concern about the levels of noise that children are exposed to in classroom situations. We report the results of a study that explores the effects of typical classroom noise on the performance of primary school children on a series of literacy and speed tasks. One hundred and fifty eight children in six Year 3 classes participated in the study. Classes were randomly assigned to one of three noise conditions. Two noise conditions were chosen to reflect levels of exposure experienced in urban classrooms (Shield & Dockrell, 2004): noise by children alone, that is classroom–babble, and babble plus environmental noise, babble and environmental. Performance in these conditions was compared with performance under typical quiet classroom conditions or base. All analyses controlled for ability. A differential negative effect of noise source on type of task was observed. Children in the babble and environmental noise performed significantly worse than those in the base and babble conditions on speed of processing tasks. In contrast, performance on the verbal tasks was significantly worse only in the babble condition. Children with special educational needs were differentially negatively affected in the babble condition. The processes underlying these effects are considered and the implications of the results for children’s attainments and classroom noise levels are explored.
Self-Serving and Group-Serving Bias in Attribution

Summary This study examined self-serving and group-serving attribution biases under conditions of individual and group success and failure. Previous research has found evidence for a self-serving bias in the context of laboratory groups, especially in conditions of group success. The present study used 52 male and female intercollegiate athletes involved in team sports who rated the performance of themselves and teammates on a series of questionnaires. Group-serving biases were stronger than self-serving bias, and this effect emerged even in the face of failure.
Expression of Growth and Differentiation Factor-9 in the Ovaries of Fetal Sheep Homozygous or Heterozygous for the Inverdale Prolificacy Gene (FecXI)1

Abstract Abnormal follicular and oocyte growth in ovaries of sheep homozygous (II) for the Inverdale gene, FecXI, suggest that this gene may influence a fundamental event in initiation of folliculogenesis, with two copies of the gene inhibiting growth at the primordial/primary stage. In addition, striking similarities in ovarian morphology between mice deficient in growth and differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9) and II sheep suggest a relationship between the FecXI gene and GDF-9 function in the ovary. Therefore, it was hypothesized that GDF-9 mRNA expression would be inhibited in ovaries of II fetal sheep. To test this hypothesis, in situ hybridization was used to characterize GDF-9 mRNA expression in ovaries of homozygous (II), heterozygous (I+), and control (++) fetal sheep at Day 135 of gestation. GDF-9 mRNA expression was localized exclusively to oocytes from the type 1 follicle stage onward in all genotypes and is the first demonstration of GDF-9 mRNA expression in ovaries of fetal sheep. In addition, GDF-9 mRNA expression was detected in oocytes of abnormal type 2 follicles in the ovaries of II sheep. Thus, it does not appear that inhibition of GDF-9 gene expression is the mechanism of action whereby the FecXI gene exerts its influence. However, the possibility of translation at specific stages of follicular development cannot presently be ruled out. In addition, the FecXI gene may be involved, either directly or indirectly, in regulating expression of receptors for GDF-9. At present, however, neither the FecXI gene product nor the GDF-9 receptor has been isolated or characterized.
Cytokine profile and proviral load among Japanese immigrants and non-Japanese infected with HTLV-1 in a non-endemic area of Brazil

The lifetime risk of HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) development differs among ethnic groups. To better understand these differences, this prospective cohort study was conducted to investigate the cytokine profile and the HTLV-1 proviral load (PVL) in Japanese and non-Japanese populations with HAM/TSP and asymptomatic carriers (ACs). The serum IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, TNF-α, and IFN-γ levels were quantified using the Cytometric Bead Array in 40 HTLV-1-infected patients (11 HAM/TSP and 29 ACs) and 18 healthy controls (HCs) in Brazil. Among ACs, 15 were Japanese descendants and 14 were non-Japanese. Of 11 patients with HAM/TSP, only one was a Japanese descendant. The HTLV-1 PVL was quantified by real-time PCR. The HTLV-1 PVL was 2.7-fold higher in HAM/TSP patients than ACs. Regardless of the clinical outcome, the PVL was significantly higher in patients younger than 60 years than older patients. The HAM/TSP and ACs had higher IL-10 serum concentrations than that of HCs. The ACs also showed higher IL-6 serum levels than those of HCs. According to age, the IL-10 and IL-6 levels were higher in ACs non-Japanese patients older than 60 years. HAM/TSP patients showed a positive correlation between IL-6 and IL-17 and a negative correlation between the PVL and IL-17 and IFN-γ. In the all ACs, a significant positive correlation was observed between IL-2 and IL-17 and a negative correlation was detected between IL-10 and TNF-α. Only 6.25% of the Japanese patients were symptomatic carriers, compared with 41.67% of the non-Japanese patients. In conclusion, this study showed that high levels of HTLV-1 PVL was intrinsicaly associated with the development of HAM/TSP. A higher HTLV-1 PVL and IL10 levels found in non-Japanese ACs over 60 years old, which compared with the Japanese group depicts that the ethnic background may interfere in the host immune status. More researches also need to be undertaken regarding the host genetic background to better understand the low frequency of HAM/TSP in Japanese HTLV-1-infected individuals.
Intensive Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents With Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention has documented efficacy in adults with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) but has yet to be systematically studied in youth. With this in mind, the authors report on the case of “Amanda,” a 16-year-old female with significantly impairing BDD symptoms. Following 17 sessions of intensive family-based CBT, Amanda exhibited marked improvement in her BDD symptoms as illustrated by a decrease in her score on the Body Dysmorphic Disorder Modification of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale from 27 at baseline to 10 at posttreatment. Therapeutic gains were maintained at a 3-month follow-up. This case study provides preliminary support for the use of intensive family-based CBT for adolescent BDD.
Differential heart rate reactivity and recovery after psychosocial stress (TSST) in healthy children, younger adults, and elderly adults: The impact of age and gender

In addition to numerous reports about psychophysiological stress responses to acute stressors, there are few data available on gender differences of stress-induced heart rate responses in multiple age groups applying the same psychological stressor. Second, the assessment of poststress recovery appears to be neglected in the empirical literature. For this study, data from 5 independent studies were reanalyzed to investigate the impact of age and gender on heart rate responses and poststress recovery to a standardized psychosocial stress task (Trier Social Stress Test; TSST) in 28 children, 34 younger adults, and 26 older adults.As expected, prestressor baselines correlated significantly with chronological age (r = -.27, p = .01). There was a marked age-related decrease in the heart rate stress response (p = .0003) with children and younger adults showing significantly higher increases than elderly persons. The analysis of gender effects showed that girls had higher heart rate increases during the stress exposure than boys (p = .03). In younger adults, stress responsivity was also higher in women (p = .03). Peak heart rate responses were comparable in older men and women, with only men returning to prestressor baselines during the observation period.In sum, this reanalysis revealed differential heart rate responses and recovery after exposition to the TSST in healthy children, younger adults, and elderly adults.
Endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan improves microcirculatory blood flow in splanchnic organs in septic shock

ObjectiveSplanchnic ischemia is believed to play an important role in the development of multiple organ dysfunction in septic shock. The vasoconstrictor peptide endothelin can produce an intense and sustained splanchnic vasoconstriction and is increased in sepsis. The aim of this investigation was to study the effects of an endothelin antagonist on microcirculatory blood flow in multiple abdominal organs during septic shock. DesignProspective, controlled animal study. SettingUniversity-affiliated research laboratory. SubjectsFifteen anesthetized and mechanically ventilated pigs. InterventionsSeptic shock was induced by fecal peritonitis. After 120 mins of sepsis, eight animals received 10 mg/kg bosentan intravenously followed by an intravenous infusion at 5 mg·kg−1·hr−1 whereas seven (controls) received isotonic saline. At 240 mins after induction of sepsis both groups received hydroxyethyl starch, 20 mL/kg intravenously, to convert hypodynamic septic shock to hyperdynamic sepsis. Measurements and Main ResultsMicrocirculatory blood flow was measured simultaneously and continuously in the jejunal muscularis, pancreas, liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, and gastric, jejunal, and colon mucosa by using a multiple-channel laser Doppler flow meter. After 120 mins, all animals had developed signs of hypodynamic sepsis with decreased cardiac index, mean arterial blood pressure, and gastric mucosal pH. Microcirculatory blood flow in the pancreas and liver had decreased by 20% and in the jejunal muscularis by >40% (p < .01) whereas it remained virtually unchanged in the gastric, jejunal, and colonic mucosa. After 240 mins, cardiac index, mean arterial blood pressure, gastric mucosal pH, and microcirculatory blood flow in the gastric mucosa, colon mucosa, jejunal muscularis, and pancreas had all deteriorated in the controls, whereas in the bosentan-treated group, cardiac index and microcirculatory blood flow in the pancreas, gastric, and colon mucosa improved. During hyperdynamic sepsis, cardiac index increased above baseline in both groups but significantly more in the bosentan group. In the control group, microcirculatory flow returned to baseline in most tissues except in skeletal muscle and jejunal muscularis. In the bosentan group, microcirculatory flow returned to or increased above baseline in all tissues except in the muscularis of the jejunum. ConclusionsThe endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan significantly improved microcirculatory blood flow in many splanchnic organs and in peripheral tissues during septic shock. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that endothelin plays an important role in the regulation of microcirculatory blood flow in splanchnic as well as in peripheral tissues during septic shock.
Anchoring: A valid explanation for biased forecasts when rational predictions are easily accessible and well incentivized?

Behavioral biases in forecasting, particularly the lack of adjustment from current values and the overall clustering of forecasts, are increasingly explained as resulting from the anchoring heuristic. Nonetheless, the classical anchoring experiments presented in support of this interpretation lack external validity for economic domains, particularly monetary incentives, feedback for learning effects and a rational strategy of unbiased predictions. We introduce an experimental design that implements central aspects of forecasting to close the gap between empirical studies on forecasting quality and the laboratory evidence for anchoring effects. Comprising more than 5,000 individual forecasts by 455 participants, our study shows significant anchoring effects. Without monetary incentives, the share of rational predictions drops from 42% to 15% in the anchor's presence. Monetary incentives reduce the average bias to one-third of its original value. Additionally, the average anchor bias is doubled when task complexity is increased, and is quadrupled when the underlying risk is increased. The variance of forecasts is significantly reduced by the anchor once risk or cognitive load is increased. Subjects with higher cognitive abilities are on average less biased toward the anchor when task complexity is high. The anchoring bias in our repeated game is not influenced by learning effects, although feedback is provided. Our results support the assumption that biased forecasts and their specific variance can be ascribed to anchoring effects.
Three kinds of reliabilism

I distinguish between three kinds of reliabilism for epistemic justification, namely, pure reliabilism, evidential reliabilism, and reasons reliabilism, and I argue for reasons reliabilism. Pure reliabilism and evidential reliabilism are plagued, most importantly, by the generality problem, and they cannot deal adequately with defeater phenomena. One can avoid these problems only by jettisoning the idea of process reliability. The truth connection – which is essential for any kind of reliabilism – has to be provided in an altogether different way, namely, by means of facts in the world which serve as objective reasons (or evidence). So, as reasons reliabilism says, a justified belief has to be anchored in an objective reason which speaks in favor of its truth. Only in this way can intuitions about defeaters be preserved and explained. And reasons reliabilism can avoid the generality problem.
Foucault and Spinoza: philosophies of immanence and the decentred political subject

Deleuze has suggested that Spinoza and Foucault share common concerns, particularly the notion of immanence and their mutual hostility to theories of subjective intentionality and contract-based theories of state power. This article explores these shared concerns. On the one hand Foucault's view of governmentality and its re-theorization of power, sovereignty and resistance provide insights into how humans are constituted as individualized subjects and how populations are formed as subject to specific regimes or mentalities of government. On the other, Spinoza was concerned with how humans organized themselves into communities capable of self-government. In particular, his idea of immanent causality was crucial because central to his ideas of freedom and power. We argue that Spinoza's approach to power and causality prefigures ideas developed by Foucault in his theory of governmentality, especially with respect to his biopolitical rethinking of power and resistance.
Effect of Masked Picture Primes on Semantic Priming for Easy- and Difficult-to-Name Words

Abstract Words can be named more rapidly when they occur in a related context than in an unrelated context. This improvement is more pronounced for words that are initially more difficult to recognize. Stanovich and West (1983) attributed both of these semantic priming effects to the process of automatic spreading activation. Experiments 1 and 2 supported this interpretation by demonstrating that an increased semantic priming effect occurred for the more difficult words when the prime was masked below recognition threshold. Experiment 3 replicated this effect with above-threshold primes. The adequacy of the thresholds for the masked primes in Experiments 1 and 2 was tested through a block of posttest forced-choice trials. Analysis of these trials strongly supported the conclusion that the magnitude of the semantic priming effect was not positively related to the ability of the subjects to recognize the masked primes.
Iranian undergraduate nursing student perceptions of informal learning: A qualitative research

Background: Nursing education is both formal and informal. Formal education represents only a small part of all the learning involved; and many students learn more effectively through informal processes. There is little information about nursing student informal education and how it affects their character and practice. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study explores undergraduate nursing student perceptions of informal learning during nursing studies. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with a sample of undergraduate nursing students (n = 14). Strauss and Corbin’s constant comparison analysis approach was used for data analysis. Results: The categories that emerged included personal maturity and emotional development, social development, closeness to God, alterations in value systems, and ethical and professional commitment. Conclusion: Findings reveal that nursing education could take advantage of informal learning opportunities to develop students’ nontechnical skills and produce more competent students. Implications for nursing education are discussed.
Racial Diversity Matters: The Impact of Diversity-Related Student Engagement and Institutional Context

This study addressed two questions: (a) Do different forms of campus racial diversity contribute uniquely to students’ learning and educational experiences when they are simultaneously tested utilizing multilevel modeling? (b) Does a campus where students take greater advantage of those diversity opportunities have independent positive effects on students’ learning? Consideration of racial diversity extended beyond student composition and included social and curricular engagement. Results suggest that benefits associated with diversity may be more far-reaching than previously documented. Not only do students benefit from engaging with racial diversity through related knowledge acquisition or cross-racial interaction but also from being enrolled on a campus where other students are more engaged with those forms of diversity, irrespective of their own level of engagement.
Family Man: Fatherhood, Housework, and Gender Equity

The typical American family has changed dramatically since the days of "Ozzie and Harriet" and "Father Knows Best. " Double-income families are now the rule, and fathers are much more involved in raising the children and cleaning house. Reactions to these changes have been diverse, ranging from grave misgivings to a sense of liberation and new possibility. Groups as diverse as Promise Keepers, the Million Man March, and Robert Bly's mythopoetic men's movement tell us that fathers are important. From the fundamentalist right to the feminist left, opinions about the changing nature of the family--and the consequent rethinking of gender roles--have been vehement, if not always very well-founded. In Family Man, sociologist Scott Coltrane brings a wealth of compelling evidence to this debate over the American family. Drawing on his own extensive research and many fascinating interviews, Coltrane explodes many of the common myths about shared parenting, provides first-hand accounts of men's and women's feelings in two-job families, and reveals some innovative solutions that couples have developed to balance job and family commitments. Readers will find an insightful discussion of precisely how and why family life has changed, what forms it may take in the future, and what new kinds of fathers may be on the horizon. The author firmly places these questions within a broad contextual framework. He provides, for instance, an illuminating history of the family that shows that, far from being a fixed structure, the family has always adapted to changing economic, social, and ideological pressures. And by examining how families operate in a variety of non-industrial societies, he demonstrates that our own notions of gender-specific work and parenting roles are culturally rather than biologically determined, and thus inherently flexible. And indeed these roles are changing. While contemporary American women still perform the bulk of domestic tasks, Family Man gives us decisive evidence that men are becoming increasingly involved in both housework and childrearing. Coltrane argues convincingly that this trend will continue. Given the current economic situation--with two-job households now the norm--and the gradual ideological shift away from restrictive gender roles, more and more couples will find it both necessary and desirable to share the workload. More important, Coltrane suggests that as fathers participate more fully in raising their children and performing traditionally female household tasks, men will themselves be transformed by the experience in profoundly positive ways and American society as a whole will move closer to true gender equity. Family Man succeeds brilliantly in bringing clarity, perspective, and above all hope to a discussion that is too often shrill, chaotic, and beset with the rhetoric of nostalgia. It shows us not only exactly where the family is today, but where it has been and what it may become.
The Markers and Rules of Scottish National Identity

This article examines how people set about the task of national identity construction and maintenance in the context of a study of landed and arts elites in Scotland. With reference to our empirical material throughout, we outline the key national identity processes: claim, attribution and the receipt of claims and attributions. Central to these are identity markers and rules. Identity markers are those social characteristics presented to others to support a national identity claim and looked to in others, either to attribute national identity, or receive and assess any claims or attributions made. Identity rules are probabilistic rules of thumb, guidelines to how these identity markers are interpreted, combined or given precedence over others within these three processes. Particular attention is given to identity rules, and consideration of the contexts in which they are adhered to or transgressed.