An anthropological examination of virtues and character strengths and wellbeing: Imagining a good life in professional training

Since its inception, there has been a rapid growth in the number of studies on Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) classification of Positive Psychology’s (PP) strengths and virtues, linking them to wellbeing (Brdar & Kashdan, 2010). However, some authors have criticized this approach (Schwartz & Sharpe, 2006), arguing that this classification does not integrate a complete understanding of the Aristotelian virtue of practical wisdom. Building on this critique, the article aims to apply the theoretical framework of Gilbert Durand’s Anthropological Structures of the Imaginary (ASI) in order to provide a nuanced approach to understanding Positive Psychology’s concepts of strengths and virtues. We suggest that this approach will contribute to enhancing the implications of these concepts for the practice of supervision and psychotherapy. In the first section, we explore the notion of virtue from the Positive Psychology perspective and contrast it with the Aristotelian perspective. The comparison of these two perspectives lead to a rationale for proposing Durand’s ASI theory for greater understanding of the complexities inherent to the notion of virtues and their associated character strengths and their role in fostering a good life. In the second section, we briefly present an overview of Durand’s ASI theory. In the third section, we further demonstrate the links between the two theoretical frameworks (i.e., Durand’s ASI and PP’s strengths and virtues), by providing applications of the relevance of ASI to both Peterson and Seligman’s (2004) six virtues and 24 character strengths. Lastly, a case conceptualization is presented to articulate the clinical implications of this proposed approach

Rapid Grain Boundary Mobility at Ambient Temperatures

Understanding and measuring the influence of grain boundaries (planar defects in the crystalline structure of materials) and their motion has become a dominant aspect in materials research, with applications in additive manufacturing, fatigue prevention, and material modeling. However, modeling grain boundaries and grain boundary mobility (GBM) is difficult due to the high temperatures or external stresses, imaging solutions compatible with the material system, and long time-scales required to create measurable experimental results. In this paper, we introduce a novel material system that allows for easy and fast visualization of GBM. A drop of liquid metal eutectic gallium indium (eGaIn) placed on indium foil will penetrate along grain boundaries, decreasing the internal stresses at grain boundary interfaces and enabling rapid GBM on the order of minutes. Due to the low melting temperature of indium, the entire process is observable without requiring special temperature-control equipment. Using a scanning electron microscope, the GBM of several grains of indium can be observed at a high resolution simultaneously. The value of the material choice and visualization process is shown by measuring the motion as a function of curvature for several grain boundaries

Molecular and Genetic Aspects of Odontogenic Lesions

In this article we outline the molecular findings of select odontogenic tumors. In each section, we briefly review selected the clinicoradiographic, histologic, immunologic features, focusing on the molecular findings and their applications in practice. The understanding of molecular pathobiology at various other organ sites has developed quite rapidly in recent years, however much remains unknown about the genetic profile of odontogenic tumors. Improved understanding of mutations in odontogenic tumors may clarify classification schema and elucidate targets for novel therapies. Molecular testing will no doubt improve our understanding of odontogenic tumor pathogenesis and will likely be, someday, an important component of routine clinical practice and its role will only increase in the coming years

RNA splicing at human immunodeficiency virus type 1 3 ' splice site A2 is regulated by binding of hnRNP A/B proteins to an exonic splicing silencer element

The synthesis of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) mRNAs is a complex process by which more than 30 different mRNA species are produced by alternative splicing of a single primary RNA transcript. HIV-1 splice sites are used with significantly different efficiencies, resulting in different levels of mRNA species in infected cells. Splicing of Tat mRNA, which is present at relatively low levels in infected cells, is repressed by the presence of exonic splicing silencers (ESS) within the two tat coding exons (ESS2 and ESS3). These ESS elements contain the consensus sequence PyUAG. Here we show that the efficiency of splicing at 3 ' splice site A2, which is used to generate Vpr mRNA, is also regulated by the presence of an ESS (ESSV), which has sequence homology to ESS2 and ESS3. Mutagenesis of the three PyUAG motifs within ESSV increases splicing at splice site A2, resulting in increased Vpr mRNA levels and reduced skipping of the noncoding exon flanked by A2 and D3. The increase in Vpr mRNA levels and the reduced skipping also occur when splice site D3 is mutated toward the consensus sequence. By in vitro splicing assays, we show that ESSV represses splicing when placed downstream of a heterologous splice site. A1, A1(B), A2, and B1 hnRNPs preferentially bind to ESSV RNA compared to ESSV mutant RNA. Each of these proteins, when added back to HeLa cell nuclear extracts depleted of ESSV-binding factors, is able to restore splicing repression. The results suggest that coordinate repression of HIV-1 RNA splicing is mediated by members of the hnRNP A/B protein family

Vps27-Hse1 and ESCRT-I complexes cooperate to increase efficiency of sorting ubiquitinated proteins at the endosome

Ubiquitin (Ub) attachment to cell surface proteins causes their lysosomal degradation by incorporating them into lumenal membranes of multivesicular bodies (MVBs). Two yeast endosomal protein complexes have been proposed as Ub-sorting “receptors,” the Vps27-Hse1 complex and the ESCRT-I complex. We used NMR spectroscopy and mutagenesis studies to map the Ub-binding surface for Vps27 and Vps23. Mutations in Ub that ablate only Vps27 binding or Vps23 binding blocked the ability of Ub to serve as an MVB sorting signal, supporting the idea that both the Vps27-Hse1 and ESCRT-I complexes interact with ubiquitinated cargo. Vps27 also bound Vps23 directly via two PSDP motifs present within the Vps27 COOH terminus. Loss of Vps27-Vps23 association led to less efficient sorting into the endosomal lumen. However, sorting of vacuolar proteases or the overall biogenesis of the MVB were not grossly affected. In contrast, disrupting interaction between Vps27 and Hse1 caused severe defects in carboxy peptidase Y sorting and MVB formation. These results indicate that both Ub-sorting complexes are coupled for efficient recognition of ubiquitinated cargo

Can Self-thinning Be Used as a Production Control Mechanism? The Case of Mussel Farming in Quebec

A bio-economic model, based on Faustmann rotation, was developed to analyze the relevance of removing thinning activities which are part of the dominant technology used in blue mussel production in Canada. Removing these density control activities (thinning) seemed a profitable option to producers. It was thought that this collector line technology would allow a part-time production, which would help start a small local industry in Eastern Québec. Biological and economic literature show the importance of density relationships upon mussel growth and harvest. Many advantages, such as restocking thinned mussel and improved growth rate, would therefore be lost. These dynamics, collectively called self-thinning in the biological literature, could be used to make this technology profitable if properly framed. Samples were taken on 140 foot-long lines used for collecting mussels of age 0+ to 3+ from local producers, as well as financial information. Analysis of population dynamics under this technology showed differences in yield and variability of samples taken at deep and shallow portions of the lines. Gompertz growth functions were fitted to these two cases. A Weibull CDF was then estimated to evaluate risk of fall-off for deep and shallow samples, determining the proportion of harvestable lines at a given time. Initial setting seemed more important then biomass growth to explain the large variability in yield. Results show that maximum revenue is attained after 4 years rather then 3, which is the current practice by local producers. In post-optimality analyses, the optimal rotation period seemed insensitive to most production or financial changes. Parameters considered reasonable to producers yielded negative profit while sub-standard subsidies allowed profitability. This function was more sensitive to changes on economic variables while reducing fall-off rate is also significant. Such changes could allow economic profit for producers

Spin- and angle-resolved spectroscopy of S2p photoionization in the hydrogen sulfide molecule.

Angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with circularly and linearly polarized synchrotron radiation were used to study the electronic structure of the hydrogen sulfide molecule. A strong effect of the molecular environment appears in the spin-resolved measurements and, although less clearly, in the angular distribution of the sulfur 2p photoelectrons. The anisotropy and spin parameters of the three main spectral components have been obtained. The validity of simple atomic models in explaining the results is discussed

Probing the molecular environment using spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.

Angle- and spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy with linearly and circularly polarized synchrotron radiation were used to study the electronic structure of model triatomic molecules, hydrogen sulfide, and carbonyl sulfide. The spin-polarization measurements of the molecular field split components of the S 2p photolines revealed a strong effect of the different molecular environments. The validity of simple atomic models to explain the results is discussed