Groove, or the pleasurable urge to move to music, offers unique insight into the relationship between emotion and action. The predictive coding of music model posits that groove is linked to ...predictions of music formed over time, with stimuli of moderate complexity rated as most pleasurable and likely to engender movement. At the same time, listeners vary in the pleasure they derive from music listening: individuals with musical anhedonia report reduced pleasure during music listening despite no impairments in music perception and no general anhedonia. Little is known about musical anhedonics' subjective experience of groove. Here we examined the relationship between groove and music reward sensitivity. Participants (n = 287) heard drum-breaks that varied in perceived complexity, and rated each for pleasure and wanting to move. Musical anhedonics (n = 13) had significantly lower ratings compared to controls (n = 13) matched on music perception abilities and general anhedonia. However, both groups demonstrated the classic inverted-U relationship between ratings of pleasure & move and stimulus complexity, with ratings peaking for intermediately complex stimuli. Across our entire sample, pleasure ratings were most strongly related with music reward sensitivity for highly complex stimuli (i.e., there was an interaction between music reward sensitivity and stimulus complexity). Finally, the sensorimotor subscale of music reward was uniquely associated with move, but not pleasure, ratings above and beyond the five other dimensions of musical reward. Results highlight the multidimensional nature of reward sensitivity and suggest that pleasure and wanting to move are driven by overlapping but separable mechanisms.
We describe 'thriving' as an under-utilized construct that can add value to theory, research, and application in adolescent development. We draw on developmental systems theories to suggest that ...thriving represents the dynamic and bi-directional interplay of a young person intrinsically animated and energized by discovering his/her specialness, and the developmental contexts (people, places) that know, affirm, celebrate, encourage, and guide its expression. We note that thriving shares some conceptual space with positive psychology and constructs such as competence, developmental assets, and flourishing, but also note how thriving differs from each of these. On both conceptual and empirical grounds, we articulate a case for the unique contribution of thriving as a valid and useful addition to our understanding of human development. We end the paper by describing the exploratory factor analysis and descriptive results of a new survey to measure adolescent thriving that has grown out of the conceptual framework presented here.
In this article, we draw on the theoretical and empirical literature to name what appear to be core dimensions of successful young adult development. We also describe some possible indicators and ...measures of those dimensions and sketch the kinds of developmental relationships and opportunities young people need in adolescence to effectively transition to a successful young adulthood, as well as the developmental relationships and opportunities young adults need for continued well-being. We name eight social, psychological, behavioral, educational, occupational, health, ethical, and civic dimensions of successful young adult development, and suggest that only a minority of adolescents are well-prepared to make a transition to successful young adulthood. The goal of the article is twofold: to contribute to the articulation of and consensus on the dimensions of successful young adult development, and to lay the groundwork for subsequent research to empirically validate both those core dimensions, as well as developmental indicators of progress toward attainment of these proposed dimensions of well-being.
It cannot be over-emphasized, the consensual outlook among scholars that education is the bedrock of development of any society. However a careful examination of the present status quo of Nigeria’s ...education is replete with countless issues and challenges that have the capacity to compromise the role education plays in national development. Such challenges as insufficient quality of curriculum, policy making and implementation, imperfect certification and lack of competence are typical to the Nigeria`s educational system. In general, there is a gap in the Nigerian education system between the formulation of educational policy and its implementation, which has resulted in the low performance of Nigerian education in recent times. These challenges are some of the fundamental pointers to the plummet in the country’s educational system, hence their solution need to be properly prepared to be able to contribute to the overall human development. As a result, this research explores the potential of the method of philosophical analysis to establish, contrary to popular opinion that Nigeria remains underdeveloped not because of the experience of colonization, imperialism and exploitation of her resources, but through the miscarriage of her educational system. The moral decadence in Nigeria institutions comes many forms, but this article discusses only five of them: examination malpractice, drug abuse, cultism, sexual harassment and grade sorting. Another problem bedeviling Nigeria educational system at all level is strike. This study thereby takes another approach to disinter how the educational system in contemporary Nigeria has waned consequent to the circumvention of proper learning and proper assessment of knowledge.
Although most social science research on adolescence emphasizes risks and challenges, an emergent field of study focuses on adolescent thriving. The current study extends this line of inquiry by ...examining the additive power of identifying and nurturing young people's “sparks,” giving them “voice,” and providing the relationships and opportunities that reinforce and nourish thriving. A national sample of 1,817 adolescents, all age 15 (49% female), and including 56% white, 17% Hispanic/Latino, and 17% African-American adolescents, completed an online survey that investigated their deep passions or interests (their “sparks”), the opportunities and relationships they have to support pursuing those sparks, and how empowered they feel to make civic contributions (their “voice”). Results consistently supported the hypothesis that linking one's spark with a sense of voice and supportive opportunities and relationships strengthens concurrent outcomes, particularly those reflecting prosociality, during a key developmental transition period. The three developmental strengths also predicted most outcomes to a greater degree than did demographics. However, less than 10 percent of 15-year-olds reported experiencing high levels of all three strengths. The results demonstrate the value of focusing on thriving in adolescence, both to reframe our understanding of this age group and to highlight the urgency of providing adolescents the opportunities and relationships they need to thrive.
Mitochondria, the energy supply factories for cell-life activities, play important roles in controlling epigenetics, differentiation and initiation, and the execution of apoptosis. These functions of ...the mitochondria contribute to cell adaptation to challenging microenvironment conditions. In past decades, mitochondrial malfunction has been revealed to be closely related to the occurrence and development of a variety of human disorders, including cancer and multiple neurodegenerative diseases. The disturbance of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) or mitochondrial vital functions, e.g., the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), can potentially be involved in disease pathogenesis. Recent research has shown that the precise monitoring of mitochondrial environments can provide potential directions for cancer diagnosis. Furthermore, mitochondrial-targeted cancer treatment exhibits unparalleled superiority for enhanced tumor therapy. Therefore, in this review, we focus on mitochondrial-based cancer diagnosis via monitoring mitochondrial respiration or mitophagy. Current approaches using mitochondrial-based cancer treatments, including targeting mitochondrial ATP, mitochondrial membrane permeability, and mitochondrial ROS levels and mtDNA, are also summarized. This review will provide insights into mitochondrial-mediated tumor monitoring and mitochondrial-based therapy.
The Pcf11 protein is an essential subunit of the large complex that cleaves and polyadenylates eukaryotic mRNA precursor. It has also been functionally linked to gene-looping, termination of RNA ...Polymerase II (Pol II) transcripts, and mRNA export. We have examined a poorly characterized but conserved domain (amino acids 142-225) of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pcf11 and found that while it is not needed for mRNA 3' end processing or termination downstream of the poly(A) sites of protein-coding genes, its presence improves the interaction with Pol II and the use of transcription terminators near gene promoters. Analysis of genome-wide Pol II occupancy in cells with Pcf11 missing this region, as well as Pcf11 mutated in the Pol II CTD Interacting Domain, indicates that systematic changes in mRNA expression are mediated primarily at the level of transcription. Global expression analysis also shows that a general stress response, involving both activation and suppression of specific gene sets known to be regulated in response to a wide variety of stresses, is induced in the two pcf11 mutants, even though cells are grown in optimal conditions. The mutants also cause an unbalanced expression of cell wall-related genes that does not activate the Cell Wall Integrity pathway but is associated with strong caffeine sensitivity. Based on these findings, we propose that Pcf11 can modulate the expression level of specific functional groups of genes in ways that do not involve its well-characterized role in mRNA 3' end processing.
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has gained considerable notoriety during the past decade of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the relationship between combat-related mTBI and residual ...mTBI symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and neurocognitive deficits remains unclear. The purpose of the study was to compare residual mTBI and PTSD symptoms, and neurocognitive deficits among U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) personnel with diagnosed blunt, blast, and blast-blunt combination mTBIs. This study involved a retrospective medical records review of 27,169 USASOC personnel who completed a military version of the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment Cognitive Test (ImPACT), Post-Concussion Symptom Scale (PCSS), and PTSD Checklist (PCL) between November 2009 and December 2011. Of the 22,203 personnel who met criteria for the study, 2,813 (12.7%) had a diagnosis of at least one mTBI. A total of 28% (n=410) of USASOC personnel with a history of diagnosed mTBI reported clinical levels of PTSD symptoms. Personnel with a history of diagnosed blunt (OR=3.58), blast (OR=4.23) or combination (OR=5.73) mTBI were at significantly (p=0.001) greater risk of reporting clinical levels of PTSD symptoms than those with no history of mTBI. A dose-response gradient for exposure to blast/combination mTBI on clinical levels of PTSD symptoms was also significant (p=0.001). Individuals with blast/combination mTBIs scored higher in residual mTBI (p=0.001) and PTSD symptoms (p=0.001), and performed worse on tests of visual memory (p=0.001), and reaction time (p=0.001) than those with blunt or no mTBI history. Individuals with combination mTBIs scored lower in verbal memory (p=0.02) than those with blunt mTBIs. Residual PTSD and mTBI symptoms appear to be more prevalent in personnel with blast mTBI. A dose-response gradient for blast mTBI and symptoms suggests that repeated exposures to these injuries may have lingering effects.
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