Exploration and confirmation of the latent variable structure of the Jefferson scale of empathy.

OBJECTIVE: To reaffirm the underlying components of the JSE by using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and to confirm its latent variable structure by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). METHODS: Research participants included 2,612 medical students who entered Jefferson Medical College between 2002 and 2012. This sample was divided into two groups: Matriculants between 2002 and 2007 (n=1,380) and be-tween 2008 and 2012 (n=1,232). Data for 2002-2007 matriculants were subjected to EFA (principal component factor extraction), and data for matriculants of 2008-2012 were used for CFA (structural equation modeling, and root mean square error for approximation. RESULTS: The EFA resulted in three factors: perspective-taking, compassionate care and walking in patient\u27s shoes replicating the 3-factor model reported in most of the previous studies. The CFA showed that the 3-factor model was an acceptable fit, thus confirming the latent variable structure emerged in the EFA. Corrected item-total score correlations for the total sample were all positive and statistically significant, ranging from 0.13 to 0.61 with a median of 0.44 (p=0.01). The item discrimination effect size indices (contrasting item mean scores for the top-third versus bottom-third JSE scorers) ranged from 0.50 to 1.4 indicating that the differences in item mean scores between top and bottom scorers on the JSE were of practical importance. Cronbach\u27s alpha coefficient of the JSE for the total sample was 0.80, ranging from 0.75 to 0.84 for matriculatnts of different years. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provided further support for under-lying constructs of the JSE, adding to its credibility

Textual Silences and Literary Choices in al-Kisāʾī’s Account of the Annunciation and the Birth of Jesus

The story of the Annunciation to Mary and the birth of Jesus in the Qurʾān and the Bible has been the subject of several recent literary studies that bring up the use of textual silences, and the significance of speech and speechlessness as themes in the text. This paper focuses on three recensions of the story available to us in printed editions of al-Kisāʾī’s Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ in similar vein, through intertextual comparison of these accounts with Mary stories as told in the Qurʾān, premodern qiṣaṣ collections, and Islamic historiographical sources. By comparing al-Kisāʾī’s accounts of the Annunciation with those told in the Qurʾān and the wider Islamic Mary corpus it is possible to gain insight into the author’s literary agenda, and also into the ways in which he draws on the wider narrative pool for his material, makes reference to the Qurʾān, and manipulates theme and characterisation

Towards multisensory storytelling with taste and flavor

Film makers, producers, and theaters have continuously looked at ways to embody and/or integrate multiple sensory cues in the experiences they deliver. Here, we present a reflection on past attempts, lessons learnt, and future directions for the community around multisensory TV, film, and multimedia as a historical, though renewed, space of content creation. In particular, we present an overview of what we call "tasty film", that is, film involving taste, flavor, and more broadly food and drink inputs, to influence the audience experience. We suggest that such elements should be considered beyond "add-ons" in film experiences. We advocate for experimentation with new kinds of storytelling taking inspiration from multisensory design research and work on sensory substitution. We position this article as a starting point for anyone interested in multisensory film involving taste, flavor, and foods

Mediterranean diet and dietary supplementation as possible predicting variables of weight management: an update of the protein project

Introduction: The Mediterranean diet is known to support the prevention of several chronic diseases and excessive weight gains. However, relevant investigations were performed in a clinical setting. The aim of this study was therefore to understand the effects of protein supplements intake on body mass index (BMI) in healthy active individuals following the Mediterranean diet. Materials and methods: A face-to-face questionnaire was administered to 667 subjects, 627 living in a Mediterranean area (MD) and 40 in a non-Mediterranean area (NMD); questionnaire enquired dietary behaviours, including a comparison between dietary patterns and protein consumption between these two populations and within each population. Results: Dietary patterns significantly varied between the MD and NMD populations (p < 0.001), although, BMI was not significantly different. The major significant differences were found between the BMI of protein supplement users and non-protein supplement users within and between the two populations (p < 0.01). No differences were found between the BMI of the protein supplement users of MD and NMD, while moderate differences were displayed between the non-supplement users of the two populations (p<0.05).Conclusions: The Mediterranean diet does not appear to affect BMI. However, BMI significantly differed between protein supplement users and non-protein supplements users indicating a direct influence of such products on body weight and consequently BMI

Media literacy and for the net generation

The paper explores the opportunities and challenges of combining media literacy and social-emotional literacy to promote mental health and wellbeing in school curricula. It describes the implementation of an experimental module within the program Crescere insieme What's Up (Growing up together What's Up). This upstream prevention and health promotion program, from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region (north-eastern Italy) is designed to harness the protective effects of developing and strengthening life skills to move beyond risk factors to prevent youth suicide, fostering connections and support between school and mental health institutions, peers and adults. The program activities involved role plays and reflection activities, collaborating in project group work, consulting and producing media (such as articles, Youtube videos and Powerpoint presentations) for peer-to-peer education. It adopted an experiential approach enabling active engagement of high school students, their parents and teachers, and 'learning by doing' with agency and responsibility. Qualitative feedback from students and teachers, study limitations and further implications are discussed.peer-reviewe

CHARACTERIZATION OF SOLUBLE HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE 1 GLYCOPROTEIN D MEDIATED INFECTION

The predominant mechanism of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) entry into permissive cells involves initial virus attachment to the cells by the interaction of envelope glycoproteins gC and gB with cell surface glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), binding of envelope glycoprotein D to one of several dissimilar co-receptors, and fusion of the virus envelope with the cell membrane requiring the combined essential functions of glycoproteins gD, gB and gH/gL. The binding of gD to its cognate receptor appears to result in emission of an activating signal to the fusion apparatus which minimally consists of the other essential glycoproteins. To gain a better understanding of gD's involvement in the fusion-activating process, we took the approach of separating gD from the virus envelope to determine whether a soluble form of gD (sgD) could mediate entry of gD-deficient virus. The results showed that sgD enabled entry of gD-deficient HSV-1 into CHO-K1 cells bearing the gD receptors HVEM or nectin-1. Using mutant forms of sgD that selectively bind to one or the other receptor, we demonstrated that entry by this mechanism is receptor specific. Investigation of the mechanism of sgD-mediated entry demonstrated that the presence of virus at the cell surface was required at the time of sgD-receptor binding, which could be explained in part by our observation that sgD rapidly dissociated from the receptor under our experimental conditions. In addition, entry was not eliminated instantaneously when receptor-bound sgD was exposed to 37ºC, suggesting that the active conformation of receptor-bound sgD is not highly unstable. sgD was not stabilized at the cell surface or internalized in the presence of gD-deficient virus. Using lysosomotropic agents as well as protease protection assays, we obtained no reproducible evidence that sgD-mediated entry takes place by endocytosis.Surprisingly, virus attachment to cell-surface GAGs was not required for sgD-mediated entry. Furthermore, gD-deficient virus attached to GAG-deficient cells in the absence of sgD, revealing a previously unknown binding interaction between the HSV virion and the cell. This interaction was shown to be of a less stable nature than the virus-GAG interaction, and may play a role in normal virus entry. Our results provide new tools and directions to unravel the still incompletely understood events set in motion by gD binding to its receptor