Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The human mirror neuron system in a population with deficient self‐awareness: An fMRI study in alexithymia

The mirror neuron system (MNS) is considered crucial for human imitation and language learning and provides the basis for the development of empathy and mentalizing. Alexithymia (ALEX), which refers to deficiencies in the self‐awareness of emotional states, has been reported to be associated with poor ability in various aspects of social cognition such as mentalizing, cognitive empathy, and perspective‐taking. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we measured the hemodynamic signal to examine whether there are functional differences in the MNS activity between participants with ALEX (n = 16) and without ALEX (n = 13), in response to a classic MNS task (i.e., the observation of video clips depicting goal‐directed hand movements). Both groups showed increased neural activity in the premotor and the parietal cortices during observation of hand actions. However, activation was greater for the ALEX group than the non‐ALEX group. Furthermore, activation in the left premotor area was negatively correlated with perspective‐taking ability as assessed with the interpersonal reactivity index. The signal in parietal cortices was negatively correlated with cognitive facets assessed by the stress coping inventory and positively correlated with the neuroticism scale from the NEO five factor personality scale. In addition, in the ALEX group, activation in the right superior parietal region showed a positive correlation with the severity of ALEX as measured by a structured interview. These results suggest that the stronger MNS‐related neural response in individuals scoring high on ALEX is associated with their insufficient self‐other differentiation. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
The Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe): Relations to demographics and well-being

Shortfalls of widely used measures of meaning in life are described. Their use results in biased correlations and restriction of the complexity inherent in experiences of meaning. To qualify results, the Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe) is employed. It offers separate scales to measure a positive and a negative dimension of meaning: meaningfulness–a fundamental sense of meaning and belonging, and crisis of meaning–the evaluation of life as frustratingly empty and lacking meaning. Both intercorrelate moderately (−.38/−.35). Additionally, the SoMe assesses 26 sources of meaning. Based on a representative sample, relationships between meaningfulness, crisis of meaning, and sources of meaning with demographics are reported (Study 1). In Study 2, SoMe scales are correlated with positive (mood, satisfaction with life) and negative (neuroticism, anxiety, depression) indicators of well-being. SEM reveals that meaningfulness predicts positive well-being, but is not predictive of negative well-being. Crisis of meaning is a strong predictor for both positive and negative well-being.
Crown Group Lejeuneaceae and Pleurocarpous Mosses in Early Eocene (Ypresian) Indian Amber

Cambay amber originates from the warmest period of the Eocene, which is also well known for the appearance of early angiosperm-dominated megathermal forests. The humid climate of these forests may have triggered the evolution of epiphytic lineages of bryophytes; however, early Eocene fossils of bryophytes are rare. Here, we present evidence for lejeuneoid liverworts and pleurocarpous mosses in Cambay amber. The preserved morphology of the moss fossil is inconclusive for a detailed taxonomic treatment. The liverwort fossil is, however, distinctive; its zig-zagged stems, suberect complicate-bilobed leaves, large leaf lobules, and small, deeply bifid underleaves suggest a member of Lejeuneaceae subtribe Lejeuneinae (Harpalejeunea, Lejeunea, Microlejeunea). We tested alternative classification possibilities by conducting divergence time estimates based on DNA sequence variation of Lejeuneinae using the age of the fossil for corresponding age constraints. Consideration of the fossil as a stem group member of Microlejeunea or Lejeunea resulted in an Eocene to Late Cretaceous age of the Lejeuneinae crown group. This reconstruction is in good accordance with published divergence time estimates generated without the newly presented fossil evidence. Balancing available evidence, we describe the liverwort fossil as the extinct species Microlejeunea nyiahae, representing the oldest crown group fossil of Lejeuneaceae.
Holistic Holidays: Tourism And The Reconciliation of Body, Mind and Spirit

This paper will explore on the current trend towards spiritual tourism, focusing on the quest for the enhancement of self through physical, mental and creative activities. This will include, for example, reference to holistic holidays, yoga tourism, ashram visits, and certain kinds of religious and pilgrimage tourism. The paper will provide an analysis of the factors that have created a need for personal and collective engagement in such forms of tourism. It will be argued that the postmodern era of global capitalism has, in many Western developed countries, created a feeling of existential angst or alienation amongst its citizens. Long working hours and the fragmentation of communities and traditions have exacerbated feelings of isolation, depression and stress. Individuals are consequently starting to seek solace in activities which enhance their physical, mental and spiritual well-being (e.g., yoga, pilates, meditation, ayurvedic treatments, aromatherapy, health spas). Many use travel as a form of escapism or as a quest to reconcile body, mind and spirit in a way that they can rarely do at home. Tourists are increasingly being drawn away from the materialistic, secular environments that they have been complicit in creating, towards simpler and natural environments in which they can attempt to be more of themselves. Drawing on a range of sources including academic and travel literature, popular fiction and promotional materials, the author will explore the way in which the ‘holistic’ tourism sector is developing. Although the analysis will focus partly on commercial developments, it will also address some of the more philosophical and religious questions that underpin this current trend. The need for escapism through travel is by no means a modern day phenomenon, nor is the personal or social alienation that renders it necessary or desirable. Throughout the centuries, writers, poets, and philosophers have often felt the need to travel to escape the malaise of the age or to assuage their own restlessness. The French poet Baudelaire would frequently set off on journeys in the vain hope of escaping the ‘spleen’ of contemporary living; Flaubert went in search of the exotic; Wordsworth sought the sublime. The Grand Tour of the 17th and 18th Century afforded the young noble the chance to enhance his personal and cultural growth through travel, and pilgrimages have traditionally enabled travellers to experience enlightenment, or physical and spiritual healing.
Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality

For the past two generations, extensive research has been conducted on the determinants of homosexuality. But, until now, scant attention has been paid to what is perhaps the most mysterious-and potentially illuminating-variation of human sexual expression, bisexuality. Today, as ignorance and fear of AIDS makes greater awareness of all forms of sexual behavior an urgent matter of private and public consequence, leading sex researchers Martin Weinberg, Colin Williams, and Douglas Pryor provide us with the first major study of bisexuality. Weinberg, Williams, and Pryor explore the riddle of dual attraction in their study of 800 residents of San Francisco. Fieldwork, intensive interviews, and surveys provided a wealth of data about the nature of bisexual attraction, the steps that lead people to become bisexual, and how sexual preference can change over time. They found that heterosexuals, more often than homosexuals, become bisexual; that bisexual men and women differ markedly in their sexual behavior and romantic feelings; that most bisexuals ultimately settle into long-term relationships while continuing sexual activity outside those relationships; and they also explain why transsexuals often become bisexual. Moreover, the authors discovered that as the AIDS crisis unfolded, many bisexual men entered into monogamous relationships with women, and bisexual women into more lesbian relationships. Recent media accounts attest that a growing number of researchers and writers are narrowing the fundamental cause of sexual preference to a single factor, biology. But if, as this study shows, learning plays a significant part in helping people traverse the boundaries of gender, if past and present intimate relationships influence their changing preferences, and if bisexual activity is inseparable from a social environment which provides distinctive sexual opportunities, then a mosaic of factors far more complex than those previously considered must be entertained in explaining the fuller spectrum of sexual preferences. Dual Attraction is one of the most significant contributions to our understanding of sexuality since the original Kinsey reports and Bell and Weinberg's 1978 international bestseller, Homosexualities. It is must reading for all those interested in the study of sexual behavior-especially now, since the onset of AIDS.
Altered intracellular and extracellular signaling leads to impaired T-cell functions in ADA-SCID patients.

Mutations in the adenosine deaminase (ADA) gene are responsible for a form of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) caused by the lymphotoxic accumulation of ADA substrates, adenosine and 2'-deoxy-adenosine. The molecular mechanisms underlying T-cell dysfunction in humans remain to be elucidated. Here, we show that CD4(+) T cells from ADA-SCID patients have severely compromised TCR/CD28-driven proliferation and cytokine production, both at the transcriptional and protein levels. Such an impairment is associated with an intrinsically reduced ZAP-70 phosphorylation, Ca(2+) flux, and ERK1/2 signaling and to defective transcriptional events linked to CREB and NF-kappaB. Moreover, exposure to 2'-deoxy-adenosine results in a stronger inhibition of T-cell activation, mediated by the aberrant A(2A) adenosine receptor signaling engagement and PKA hyperactivation, or in a direct apoptotic effect at higher doses. Conversely, in T cells isolated from patients after gene therapy with retrovirally transduced hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, the biochemical events after TCR triggering occur properly, leading to restored effector functions and normal sensitivity to apoptosis. Overall, our findings provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the immune defects associated with an altered purine metabolism and confirm that ADA gene transfer is an efficacious treatment for ADA-SCID. The trials in this study are enrolled at www.ClinicalTrials. gov as #NCT00598481 and #NCT0059978.
Characterization of the Chromosomalaac(6′)-Iz Gene of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

ABSTRACT The aac(6′)-Iz gene of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia BM2690 encoding an aminoglycoside 6′-N-acetyltransferase was characterized. The gene was identified as a coding sequence of 462 bp corresponding to a protein with a calculated mass of 16,506 Da, a value in good agreement with that of ca. 16,000 found by in vitro coupled transcription-translation. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence indicated that the protein was a member of the major subfamily of aminoglycoside 6′-N-acetyltransferases. The enzyme conferred resistance to amikacin but not to gentamicin, indicating that it was an AAC(6′) of type I. The open reading frame upstream from the aac(6′)-Izgene was homologous to the fprA gene of Myxococcus xanthus (61% identity), which encodes a putative pyridoxine (pyridoxamine) 5′-phosphate oxidase. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of total DNA from BM2690 and S. maltophilia ATTC 13637 digested with XbaI, DraI, and SpeI followed by hybridization with rRNA and aac(6′)-Iz-specific probes indicated that the gene was located in the chromosome. Theaac(6′)-Iz gene was detected by DNA-DNA hybridization in all 80 strains of S. maltophilia tested. The MICs of gentamicin against these strains of S. maltophilia were lower than those of amikacin, netilmicin, and tobramycin, indicating that production of AAC(6′)-Iz contributes to aminoglycoside resistance in S. maltophilia.
Sequential effects in Olympic synchronized diving scores

When judging performances in a sequence, the current score is often influenced by the preceding score. Where athletes are perceived to be similar, a judgement is assimilated towards the previous one. However, if judges focus on the differences between the two athletes, this will result in a contrasting influence on their scores. Here, I investigate sequential effects during synchronized diving events at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Although previous research found assimilation in scores of gymnasts, the current data showed contrast effects—current scores benefited from following a poor performance but were at a disadvantage if they followed a high-scoring performance. One explanation may be that the processes involved in judging synchronized pairs results in a focus on the differences between athletes, producing a contrast effect across dives. That the specific direction of this sequential bias may depend on the particular sport has implications for how judges might approach their roles in a context-dependent manner, as well as how such biases should be addressed.
UK Teachers Under Stress: Can We Predict Wellness on the Basis of Characteristics of the Teaching Job?

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between the components of the Karasek model and burnout, somatic complaints and job satisfaction in teachers. Questionnaires were collected from 166 teachers from six secondary schools in the greater London area. The European reference group consisted of 2017 teachers from 10 other countries who participated in the EUROTEACH Project. Regression analyses show that of the Karasek components, job demands was the most consistent predictor for the study outcomes, whereas control and social support appeared to have less predictive power. The inclusion of other job aspects (e.g. physical exertion, environmental risks, and job meaningfulness) significantly added varying degrees to the explained variance of the outcomes. The addition of coping strategies marginally adds to overall explained variances of the burnout components. The UK teachers were considerably worse off than their European colleagues on all outcome measures, and the majority of the predictor variables. They appear to use different coping strategies, work under worse conditions and report lower levels of psychological and physical well-being.
Disruption of d-alanyl esterification of Staphylococcus aureus cell wall teichoic acid by the β-lactam resistance modifier (−)-epicatechin gallate

Objectives The naturally occurring polyphenol (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECg) increases oxacillin susceptibility in mecA-containing strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Decreased susceptibility to lysostaphin suggests alterations to the wall teichoic acid (WTA) content of ECg-grown bacteria. Changes in WTA structure in response to ECg were determined. Methods Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of purified monomers from S. aureus was used to elucidate WTA structures. Molecular modelling of WTA chains was employed to determine their spatial configuration. Results ECg-grown methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains BB568 and EMRSA-16 displayed markedly reduced resistance to oxacillin, had thickened cell walls and separated poorly. Growth in ECg-supplemented medium reduced the substitution of the WTA backbone by d-alanine (d-Ala); ratios of N-acetyl glucosamine to d-Ala were reduced from 0.6 and 0.49 (for BB568 and EMRSA-16) to 0.3 and 0.28, respectively. Molecular simulations indicated a decrease in the positive charge of the bacterial wall, confirmed by increased binding of cationized ferritin, and an increase in WTA chain flexibility to a random coil conformation. Conclusions Structural elucidation and molecular modelling of WTA indicated that conformational changes associated with reduced d-Ala substitution may contribute to the increased susceptibility of MRSA to β-lactam antibiotics and account for other elements of the ECg-induced phenotype.
Identification of Potential Sites for Tryptophan Oxidation in Recombinant Antibodies Using tert-Butylhydroperoxide and Quantitative LC-MS

Amino acid oxidation is known to affect the structure, activity, and rate of degradation of proteins. Methionine oxidation is one of the several chemical degradation pathways for recombinant antibodies. In this study, we have identified for the first time a solvent accessible tryptophan residue (Trp-32) in the complementary-determining region (CDR) of a recombinant IgG1 antibody susceptible to oxidation under real-time storage and elevated temperature conditions. The degree of light chain Trp-32 oxidation was found to be higher than the oxidation level of the conserved heavy chain Met-429 and the heavy chain Met-107 of the recombinant IgG1 antibody HER2, which have already been identified as being solvent accessible and sensitive to chemical oxidation. In order to reduce the time for simultaneous identification and functional evaluation of potential methionine and tryptophan oxidation sites, a test system employing tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) and quantitative LC-MS was developed. The optimized oxidizing conditions allowed us to specifically oxidize the solvent accessible methionine and tryptophan residues that displayed significant oxidation in the real-time stability and elevated temperature study. The achieved degree of tryptophan oxidation was adequate to identify the functional consequence of the tryptophan oxidation by binding studies. In summary, the here presented approach of employing TBHP as oxidizing reagent combined with quantitative LC-MS and binding studies greatly facilitates the efficient identification and functional evaluation of methionine and tryptophan oxidation sites in the CDR of recombinant antibodies.
Research on the Efficacy of Sensory Integration Therapy: Past, Present and Future

Research on the efficacy of sensory integration therapy (SIT) is addressed in this article. Initially, past key reviews of intervention studies until 1994 are considered. Subsequently, more recent studies from 1994 until 2007 are examined. Consistent with numerous previous reviews, no robust evidence supporting the efficacy of SIT was found. Alternative and more parsimonious explanations for purported effects of SIT are considered. In light of the accumulated lack of evidence for the effectiveness of SIT, continued use of the technique outside of research contexts does not appear to be justified.
Personnel Administrators' Preferences for Résumé Content: Ten Years After

With the heavy reliance upon restcmes for securing employment, instructors are called upon both formally and informally to teach résumé design. The pre sent research was conducted in response to the observation that limited empir ical research exists on résumé content. More specifically, the research extends from and compares to a study of a decade ago (Hutchinson, 1984) to detect potential changes in the preferences for résumé content of personnel adminis trators in Fortune 500 organizations. Based upon responses to questionnaires, the present research draws comparisons between the 1984 research and the present survey to enhance the information available to teachers of résumé design.
Through a New Mirror: Reflections on Tourism and Identity in the Amazon

Interactions between locals and tourists entail more than simple transactions of money for goods or services. They also involve the exchange of expectations, stereotypes, and expressions of ethnicity and culture. In this study, an ecotourism lodge in Peru was the setting for an ethnographic analysis of tourists' expectant gazes and locals' reactions to them. Interview data and observations reveal that over several years, locals began to alter their perceptions of what it meant to be, sound, and look "native. " The lodge in the study is co-owned and managed by a mixed ethnic community of 150 families. Since opening in 1998, the lodge has received 5,000-6,000 tourists a year. Partly in response to the expectations of tourists, people have begun to show new (or renewed) pride in indigenous culture. Four indicators were: (1) increased efforts to learn indigenous language, stories, and songs from elders; (2) heightened interest in presenting indigenous culture to tourists, coupled with debates over intellectual.
An Overview of the Barbary Macaque, Macaca sylvanus, Vocal Repertoire

This study provides an overview of the vocalizations of Barbary macaques, Macaca sylvanus. Spectrographic displays of calls are presented along with photographs of the accompanying facial gestures. We give a general description of the contexts in which the different calls are uttered, with special regard to the age and sex of the caller. The vocal repertoire of Barbary macaques mainly consists of screams, shrill barks, geckers, low-frequency pants and grunts, with gradation occurring within and between call types. The spectrograms document that typically, Barbary macaques produce series of several consecutive calls. The influence of habitat, social structure and phylogenetic descent on the morphology of the repertoire and call diversity are discussed in comparison to other species.
Effects of metformin and rosiglitazone in HIV-infected patients with hyperinsulinemia and elevated waist/hip ratio

Objective:To evaluate the effects of metformin and rosiglitazone, alone or in combination, on fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, and lipids in HIV-infected patients with insulin resistance and changes in fat distribution. Methods:A total of 105 subjects were randomly assigned to receive metformin (500 mg twice a day increasing to 1000 mg twice a day after 2 weeks) with rosiglitazone placebo (Met/P, N = 26); rosiglitazone (4 mg/day) with metformin placebo (Rosi/P, N = 27); rosiglitazone (4 mg/day) plus metformin (500 mg twice a day increasing to 1000 mg twice a day after 2 weeks; Met/Rosi, N = 25); or dual placebo (P/P, N = 27) for 16 weeks. Efficacy assessments included oral glucose tolerance testing, abdominal computed tomography, whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and the measurement of fasting lipids and other biochemical indices. Safety was monitored throughout. Intent-to-treat analyses were performed using non-parametric methods. Results:The median insulin area under the curve (AUC) decreased significantly compared with baseline in both groups randomly assigned to rosiglitazone (Rosi/P −25.7 μIU/ml, P = 0.012; Met/Rosi −17.7 μIU/ml, P = 0.002); and tended to decrease in the Met/P group (−11.1 μIU/ml, P = 0.058). The change in AUC with combination therapy was significant compared with placebo (P = 0.032). No treatment was associated with significant changes in visceral or subcutaneous abdominal fat. Leg fat increased in subjects on Rosi/P compared with placebo (+4.8 versus −8.3%, P = 0.034). Rosiglitazone, but not metformin, increased adiponectin but also increased LDL-cholesterol and decreased HDL-cholesterol. Gastrointestinal effects occurred frequently in subjects on metformin. Conclusion:Both treatments improved insulin sensitivity, but neither reduced visceral fat. Rosiglitazone may increase subcutaneous fat in some individuals.