The heart of Detroit study: a window into urban middle-aged and older African Americans' daily lives to understand psychosocial determinants of cardiovascular disease risk.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects African Americans. Psychosocial factors, including the experience of and emotional reactivity to racism and interpersonal stressors, contribute to the etiology and progression of cardiovascular disease through effects on health behaviors, stress-responsive neuroendocrine axes, and immune processes. The full pathway and complexities of these associations remain underexamined in African Americans. The Heart of Detroit Study aims to identify and model the biopsychosocial pathways that influence cardiovascular disease risk in a sample of urban middle-aged and older African American adults. METHODS: The proposed sample will be composed of 500 African American adults between the ages of 55 and 75 from the Detroit urban area. This longitudinal study will consist of two waves of data collection, two years apart. Biomarkers of stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular surrogate endpoints (i.e., heart rate variability and blood pressure) will be collected at each wave. Ecological momentary assessments will characterize momentary and daily experiences of stress, affect, and health behaviors during the first wave. A proposed subsample of 60 individuals will also complete an in-depth qualitative interview to contextualize quantitative results. The central hypothesis of this project is that interpersonal stressors predict poor cardiovascular outcomes, cumulative physiological stress, poor sleep, and inflammation by altering daily affect, daily health behaviors, and daily physiological stress. DISCUSSION: This study will provide insight into the biopsychosocial pathways through which experiences of stress and discrimination increase cardiovascular disease risk over micro and macro time scales among urban African American adults. Its discoveries will guide the design of future contextualized, time-sensitive, and culturally tailored behavioral interventions to reduce racial disparities in cardiovascular disease risk.

A desconstrução heideggeriana da metafísica como terapia da condição humana / La desconstrucción heideggeriana de la metafísica como terapia de la condición humana / The heidegger's deconstruction of metaphysics as therapy for the human condition

RESUMO O texto, resultado de um estudo teórico, reflete sobre o potencial do pensamento do filósofo Martin Heidegger no que se refere às possibilidades nele contidas de reexperimentar o fundo a partir do qual os nossos empreendimentos teóricos e práticos se constituem. A ênfase recai sobre a desconstrução e fecundidade nela presente para a psicologia e para outras ciências humanas. Situaremos o problema, apresentaremos em traços gerais o seu pensamento e apontaremos alguns desafios que representam indícios de uma terapia para as explicações, teorias e práticas de cuidado com o ser humano. Esse movimento para dentro do ambiente não tematizado onde vivemos e pensamos, mas que é a condição de possibilidade deste mesmo ambiente, se constitui como acesso à condição humana, na direção da proximidade com o inaugural. E permite a compreensão e liberação do ser humano para além dos projetos ônticos, resultando em terapia das terapias especializadas, em terapia da condição humana no mundo.

RESUMEN El texto, resultado de un estudio teorético, refleja sobre el potencial del pensamiento del filósofo Martin Heidegger en lo que se refiere a las posibilidades en él contenidas de reexperimentar el fondo desde donde se desarrollan nuestros emprendimientos teóricos y prácticos. El énfasis recae sobre la deconstrucción y la fecundidad en ella presente para la psicología y para otras ciencias humanas. Situaremos el problema, presentaremos en trazos generales su pensamiento y apuntaremos algunos desafíos que representan indicios de una terapia para las explicaciones, teorías y prácticas de cuidado con el ser humano. Este movimiento hacia el ambiente no tematizado donde vivimos y pensamos, pero que es la condición de posibilidad de este mismo ambiente, se constituye como acceso a la condición humana, en la dirección de la cercanía con lo inaugural. Y permite una comprensión y liberación del ser humano más allá de los proyectos ónticos, resultando en una terapia de las terapias especializadas, en una terapia de la condición humana en el mundo.

ABSTRACT The text, result of a theoretical study, reflects on the potential of the philosopher Martin Heidegger's thinking about the possibilities contained therein to re-experience the background from where our theoretical and practical undertakings are constituted. The emphasis lies on deconstruction and fecundity present in it for psychology and other human sciences. We will situate the problem, present in general outlines his thinking and present some challenges that represent indications of a therapyfor the explanations, theories and practices of care for the human being. This movement into the non-thematized environment where we live and think, but which is the condition of possibility of the same environment, is constituted as access to the human condition, in the direction of proximity to the inaugural. And it allows an understanding and liberation of the human being beyond ontic projects, resulting in a therapy of specialized therapies, a therapy of the human condition in the world.

Dynamic graph convolutional networks with attention mechanism for rumor detection on social media.

Social media has become an ideal platform for the propagation of rumors, fake news, and misinformation. Rumors on social media not only mislead online users but also affect the real world immensely. Thus, detecting the rumors and preventing their spread became an essential task. Some of the recent deep learning-based rumor detection methods, such as Bi-Directional Graph Convolutional Networks (Bi-GCN), represent rumor using the completed stage of the rumor diffusion and try to learn the structural information from it. However, these methods are limited to represent rumor propagation as a static graph, which isn't optimal for capturing the dynamic information of the rumors. In this study, we propose novel graph convolutional networks with attention mechanisms, named Dynamic GCN, for rumor detection. We first represent rumor posts with their responsive posts as dynamic graphs. The temporal information is used to generate a sequence of graph snapshots. The representation learning on graph snapshots with attention mechanism captures both structural and temporal information of rumor spreads. The conducted experiments on three real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of Dynamic GCN over the state-of-the-art methods in the rumor detection task.

Human protection drives the emergence of a new coping style in animals.

Wild animals face novel environmental threats from human activities that may occur along a gradient of interactions with humans. Recent work has shown that merely living close to humans has major implications for a variety of antipredator traits and physiological responses. Here, we hypothesize that when human presence protects prey from their genuine predators (as sometimes seen in urban areas and at some tourist sites), this predator shield, followed by a process of habituation to humans, decouples commonly associated traits related to coping styles, which results in a new range of phenotypes. Such individuals are characterized by low aggressiveness and physiological stress responses, but have enhanced behavioral plasticity, boldness, and cognitive abilities. We refer to these individuals as "preactive," because their physiological and behavioral coping style falls outside the classical proactive/reactive coping styles. While there is some support for this new coping style, formal multivariate studies are required to investigate behavioral and physiological responses to anthropogenic activities.

A direct comparison of the day reconstruction method (DRM) and the experience sampling method (ESM).

The day reconstruction method (DRM) is an approach to measuring well-being that is designed to approximate the rich data that can be obtained from intensive repeated measures designs like those used in the experience sampling method (ESM). Although some preliminary tests of the validity of the DRM have been conducted, these typically focus on agreement between the 2 methods at very broad levels, rather than focusing on whether the 2 methods provide similar information about the exact same moments. This article reports 2 studies that use ESM and DRM to assess the same moments. Agreement between the 2 measures varied considerably depending on the focus of the analysis. For aggregate assessments of total time spent in situations and average affect in situations, agreement was high; for between-person differences in time use and experienced affect, agreement varied across situations; and for within-person differences in both situations and affect, agreement was quite low. In addition, we found preliminary evidence that the DRM may be more influenced by expectations regarding the pleasantness of situations as compared with ESM. These results suggest that for many common purposes, the DRM does not provide the same information as ESM. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

A unidade afetivo-cognitiva: aspectos conceituais e metodológicos a partir da psicologia histórico-cultural / The affective-cognitive unity: theoretical and methodological aspects from the perspective of cultural-historical psychology / La unidad afectivo-cognitiva: aspectos conceptuales y metodológicos a partir de la psicología histórico-cultural

Este estudo teórico-metodológico teve por objetivo sistematizar o conceito de unidade afetivo-cognitiva a partir da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural. Esse objetivo se justifica pela escassez de estudos acerca do tema na Psicologia e pela observância de que há uma predominância de visões dualistas acerca da razão e da emoção nos estudos psicológicos. Nesse sentido, o estudo da unidade afetivo-cognitiva pode trazer acréscimos à Psicologia por discutir os aspectos metodológicos da cisão razão/emoção e por evidenciar a união entre esses processos como parte essencial do processo humano de apreensão da realidade. Sendo assim, buscou-se discutir a constituição da consciência humana e da estrutura da atividade como unidades de análise da unidade afetivo-cognitiva. A partir de Leontiev e Vigotski, analisou-se a estrutura da atividade humana e sua expressão pelos significados sociais e sentidos pessoais como unidade afetivo-cognitiva. Essa investigação resultou na constatação de que a estrutura da atividade e a constituição da consciência humana demandam funções afetivo-cognitivas para formar a imagem subjetiva da realidade objetiva no psiquismo humano. Por isso, indicou-se, conforme afirma Vigotski, que entender a unidade afetivo-cognitiva como sistema semântico da consciência demanda o destrinchamento da relação entre a atividade humana e a forma como o ser torna essa atividade consciente.

This theoretical-methodological study aimed to systematize the concept of affective-cognitive unity in Historical-Cultural Psychology. This objective is justified by the scarcity of studies on the subject in Psychology and based on the observation that there is a predominance of dualistic views on reason and emotion in psychological studies. In this sense, the study of the affective--cognitive unit can present improvements to Psychology by discussing the methodological aspects of the reason/emotion split and for making evident the union between these processes as an essential part of the human process of apprehension of reality. Thus, we sought to discuss the constitution of human consciousness and the structure of activity as units of analysis of the affective--cognitive unity. Based on Leontiev and Vygotsky, we analyzed the structure of human activity and its expression by social meanings and personal senses as an affective-cognitive unit. This investigation resulted in the realization that the structure of activity and the constitution of human consciousness demand affective-cognitive functions to form the subjective image of objective reality in the human psyche. Therefore, it was pointed out, as Vygotsky states, that understanding the affective-cognitive unity as a semantic system of consciou-sness requires the study of how human activity relates to the way that the human being is aware and conscious of this activity.

Este estudio, teórico-metodológico, tuvo como objetivo sistematizar el concepto de unidad afectivo-cognitiva a partir de la Psicología Histórico-Cultural. Este objetivo se justifica por la escasez de estudios acerca del tema en la Psicología y por la observancia de que hay un predominio de visiones dualistas acerca de la razón y la emoción en los estudios psicológicos. En este sentido, el estudio de la unidad afectivo-cognitiva puede incrementar a la Psicología por discutir los aspectos metodológicos de la escisión razón / emoción y por evidenciar, la unión entre estos procesos como parte esencial del proceso humano de aprehensión de la realidad. Siendo así, se buscó discutir la constitución de la conciencia humana y de la estructura de la actividad como unidades de análisis de la unidad afectivo-cognitiva. A partir de Leontiev y Vigotski, se analizó la estructura de la actividad humana y su expresión por los significados sociales y sentidos personales como unidad afectivo-cognitiva. Esta investigación resultó en la constatación de que la estructura de la actividad y la constitución de la conciencia humana demandan funciones afectivo-cognitivas para formar la imagen subjetiva de la realidad objetiva en el psiquismo humano. Por eso, se indica, según afirma Vigotski, que entender la unidad afectivo-cognitiva como sistema semántico de la conciencia, demanda desmenuzar la relación entre la actividad humana y la forma como el ser hace esa actividad consciente.

Drug instrumentalization.

Psychoactive drugs with addiction potential are widely used by people of virtually all cultures in a non-addictive way. In order to understand this behaviour, its population penetrance, and its persistence, drug instrumentalization was suggested as a driving force for this consumption. Drug instrumentalization theory holds that psychoactive drugs are consumed in a very systematic way in order to make other, non-drug-related behaviours more efficient. Here, we review the evolutionary origin of this behaviour and its psychological mechanisms and explore the neurobiological and neuropharmacological mechanisms underlying them. Instrumentalization goals are discussed, for which an environmentally selective and mental state-dependent consumption of psychoactive drugs can be learned and maintained in a non-addictive way. A small percentage of people who regularly instrumentalize psychoactive drugs make a transition to addiction, which often starts with qualitative and quantitative changes in the instrumentalization goals. As such, addiction is proposed to develop from previously established long-term drug instrumentalization. Thus, preventing and treating drug addiction in an individualized medicine approach may essentially require understanding and supporting personal instrumentalization goals.

Enjoyable, engaging and individualised: A concept analysis of meaningful activity for older adults with dementia.

AIM: The term "meaningful activity" is widely used in policy, practice and the research literature. However, definition and use of the term is unclear and inconsistent. A concept analysis was conducted to explore the fundamental attributes that make an activity meaningful for older adults with dementia and propose a conceptual model for understanding "meaningful activity" in this population. METHODS: This study followed Walker and Avant's method of concept analysis. Searches were conducted in the Scopus, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, Academic Search Elite and Web of Science databases for literature using the term "meaningful activity." Papers published before 1996 were excluded. RESULTS: Twenty-nine papers concerned with "meaningful activity" were analysed. This analysis identified five attributes that make activities meaningful for people with dementia: (a) enjoyable; (b) suited to the individual's skills, abilities and preferences; (c) related to personally relevant goals; (d) engaging; and (e) related to an aspect of identity. The conceptual model illustrates how individual and opportunity factors influence participation in "meaningful activity" and the consequences of this participation as discussed in the existing literature. CONCLUSION: The findings of this concept analysis provide insight into what characteristics make an activity meaningful. Specific activities that are meaningful are different for each person and participation in personally 'meaningful activities' has the potential to positively impact the lives of people with dementia. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This understanding of 'meaningful activity' can be used by those involved in research, planning or delivery of services and care for people with dementia to encourage and support participation in activities that are meaningful to individuals.

Aging Well in the Digital Age: Technology in Processes of Selective Optimization with Compensation.

OBJECTIVES: Studies show that using information and communication technology (ICT) contributes significantly to elders' subjective well-being (SWB). Drawing on the Selective Optimization with Compensation (SOC) model, this study aims at exploring the mechanism by which ICT use helps older adults remain engaged in valued life activities and maintain their SWB. METHOD: Involving teams from seven countries (Canada, Colombia, Israel, Italy, Peru, Romania, Spain), 27 focus groups were conducted with a total of 184 grandmothers aged 65 years and older who use ICT. RESULTS: Analysis led to identification of a series of strategies related to ICT use that may be described in SOC terms. "Intentional limited use" and "Selective timing,", for example, are clearly associated with selection. In addition, numerous optimizing strategies were found to be applied in "Instrumental" and "Leisure" activities, whereas some ICT uses offered compensation for "Aging-related" and "General" challenging circumstances. DISCUSSION: The study suggests that ICT is used in all three SOC processes and that its effective application facilitates adjustment and enhances SWB. It should therefore be regarded as a resource that supports existing personal and social resources and life management strategies, and even as a Quality of Life Technology that maintains or enhances functioning in older adulthood.

Psicologia "do esporte" ou "da performance humana"? Explorando contextos não esportivos e suas implicações teórico-práticas / "Sport" Psychology or "Human performance" Psychology? Exploring non-sportive contexts and their theoretical-practical implications / ¿Psicología "del deporte" o "del performance humano"? Explorando contextos no deportivos y sus implicaciones teórico-prácticas

Historicamente, a Psicologia do Esporte e do Exercício esteve majoritariamente direcionada aos esportes organizados. No entanto, há psicólogos do esporte que adaptam as técnicas e conceitos desta área a demais contextos da performance humana, o que exige uma melhor compreensão sobre as implicações teórico-práticas destas iniciativas. O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma análise crítica sobre esta tendência, baseada em estudos teóricos e empíricos sobre Psicologia da Performance. O conceito de Psicologia da Performance pode representar uma unidade existente entre as pesquisas e intervenções direcionadas a diversas atividades humanas. Ao expandir seu escopo, a Psicologia do Esporte dá origem a uma Psicologia da Performance, auxiliando diferentes grupos de pessoas que atuam rotineiramente na busca por níveis máximos de desempenho. Através de uma análise temática de documentos-semente sobre o tema, identificou-se que os principais setores para estas aplicações são: (1) o desenvolvimento pessoal; (2) o mundo empresarial; (3) o mundo artístico; e (4) as forças armadas. Compreender como essa área está se constituindo e os contextos de sua aplicação pode contribuir para a ampliação do campo de trabalho do psicólogo do esporte e para a expansão da psicologia do esporte, especialmente no contexto brasileiro.

Historically, the Sport and Exercise Psychology has been mostly oriented to organized sports. However, there are sports psychologists who adapt concepts and techniques of this area to several contexts of human performance, which requires a better understanding of the theoretical and practical implications of these enterprises. The purpose of this article is to present a critical analysis of this trend, based on theoretical and empirical studies about Performance Psychology. The concept of Performance Psychology may represent an exis-ting unity between research and interventions on different human activities. By expanding its scope, Sport Psychology gives rise to Performance Psycho-logy, which makes it possible to assist several groups of people that routinely seek maximum levels of performance. Through a thematic analysis of seed documents on the subject, it was identified that the main sectors for these applications are: (1) personal development; (2) the business world; (3) the artistic world; and (4) the military. Understanding the contexts of application and how this area is being constituted may contribute to the expansion of Sport Psychology field, as well as the expansion of work possibilities of sports psychologists, especially in the Brazilian context.

Históricamente, la Psicología del Deporte y del Ejercicio estuvo mayoritaria-mente dirigida a los deportes organizados. Sin embargo, hay psicólogos del deporte que adaptan las técnicas y conceptos de esta área a otros contextos del performance humano, requiriendo una mejor comprensión sobre las impli-caciones teórico-prácticas de estas iniciativas. El objetivo de este artículo es presentar un análisis crítico sobre esta tendencia, basada en estudios teóricos y empíricos sobre Psicología del Performance. El concepto de Psicología del Performance puede representar una unidad existente entre investigaciones e intervenciones dirigidas a diversas actividades humanas. Al expandir su alcance, la Psicología del Deporte da origen a una Psicología del Perfor-mance, ayudando a diferentes grupos de personas que actúan rutinariamente buscando los niveles máximos de desempeño. A través de un análisis temático de documentos-semilla sobre el tema, se identificó que los principales sectores para estas aplicaciones son: (1) el desarrollo personal; (2) el mundo empre-sarial; (3) el mundo artístico; y (4) las fuerzas armadas. Comprender cómo esta área se está constituyendo y los contextos de su aplicación pueden contri-buir a la ampliación del campo de trabajo del psicólogo del deporte y para la expansión de la Psicología del Deporte, especialmente en el contexto brasileño.

Latitudinal Psychology: An Ecological Perspective on Creativity, Aggression, Happiness, and Beyond.

Are there systematic trends around the world in levels of creativity, aggressiveness, life satisfaction, individualism, trust, and suicidality? This article suggests a new field, latitudinal psychology, that delineates differences in such culturally shared features along northern and southern rather than eastern and western locations. In addition to geographical, ecological, and other explanations, we offer three metric foundations of latitudinal variations: replicability (latitudinal gradient repeatability across hemispheres), reversibility (north-south gradient reversal near the equator), and gradient strength (degree of replicability and reversibility). We show that aggressiveness decreases whereas creativity, life satisfaction, and individualism increase as one moves closer to either the North or South Pole. We also discuss the replicability, reversibility, and gradient strength of (a) temperatures and rainfall as remote predictors and (b) pathogen prevalence, national wealth, population density, and income inequality as more proximate predictors of latitudinal gradients in human functioning. Preliminary analyses suggest that cultural and psychological diversity often need to be partially understood in terms of latitudinal variations in integrated exposure to climate-induced demands and wealth-based resources. We conclude with broader implications, emphasizing the importance of north-south replications in samples that are not from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) societies.

Identifying social participation subgroups of individuals with severe mental illnesses: a latent class analysis.

PURPOSE: To investigate factors that influence participation in and needs for work and other daytime activities among individuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI). METHODS: A latent class analysis using routine outcome monitoring data from 1069 patients was conducted to investigate whether subgroups of individuals with SMI can be distinguished based on participation in work or other daytime activities, needs for care in these areas, and the differences between these subgroups. RESULTS: Four subgroups could be distinguished: (1) an inactive group without daytime activities or paid employment and many needs for care in these areas; (2) a moderately active group with some daytime activities, no paid employment, and few needs for care; (3) an active group with more daytime activities, no paid employment, and mainly met needs for care; and (4) a group engaged in paid employment without needs for care in this area. Groups differed significantly from each other in age, duration in MHC, living situation, educational level, having a life partner or not, needs for care regarding social contacts, quality of life, psychosocial functioning, and psychiatric symptoms. Differences were not found for clinical diagnosis or gender. CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals with SMI, different subgroups can be distinguished based on employment situation, daytime activities, and needs for care in these areas. Subgroups differ from each other on patient characteristics and each subgroup poses specific challenges, underlining the need for tailored rehabilitation interventions. Special attention is needed for individuals who are involuntarily inactive, with severe psychiatric symptoms and problems in psychosocial functioning.

Understanding the prevalence of bear part consumption in Cambodia: A comparison of specialised questioning techniques.

The trade in bear parts for medicine and for status is a conservation challenge throughout Asia. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are endemic to this region, and populations are estimated to have declined throughout their ranges due to widespread illegal killing of bears and trade in parts, combined with loss of habitat. Previous studies have indicated that legislation alone is insufficient to prevent illegal hunting and trade, indicating instead a need to address demand for bear parts and products. We conducted mixed-method surveys in Cambodia to understand the key motivators for individuals to consume bear parts, and to understand whether specialised questioning techniques are applicable in this context. Bear part use is illegal in Cambodia and may therefore be considered a sensitive behaviour, in that individuals may be reluctant to admit to it. To counteract possible biases, four specialised questioning techniques were used in this study: randomised response technique (RRT), unmatched count technique (UCT), nominative technique (NT), and false consensus bias (FCB). All four methods serve to shield a respondent's admittance of a sensitive behaviour from the interviewer. The results presented here show that great variability exists in anonymous methods' efficacy in certain contexts. However, the results overall indicate that individuals in Cambodia are under-reporting their consumption of bear parts when directly asked, and that the prevalence of bear part use in Cambodia may be as high as 15% of the population, representing a significant conservation challenge.

Applying Multivariate Segmentation Methods to Human Activity Recognition From Wearable Sensors' Data.

BACKGROUND: Time-resolved quantification of physical activity can contribute to both personalized medicine and epidemiological research studies, for example, managing and identifying triggers of asthma exacerbations. A growing number of reportedly accurate machine learning algorithms for human activity recognition (HAR) have been developed using data from wearable devices (eg, smartwatch and smartphone). However, many HAR algorithms depend on fixed-size sampling windows that may poorly adapt to real-world conditions in which activity bouts are of unequal duration. A small sliding window can produce noisy predictions under stable conditions, whereas a large sliding window may miss brief bursts of intense activity. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to create an HAR framework adapted to variable duration activity bouts by (1) detecting the change points of activity bouts in a multivariate time series and (2) predicting activity for each homogeneous window defined by these change points. METHODS: We applied standard fixed-width sliding windows (4-6 different sizes) or greedy Gaussian segmentation (GGS) to identify break points in filtered triaxial accelerometer and gyroscope data. After standard feature engineering, we applied an Xgboost model to predict physical activity within each window and then converted windowed predictions to instantaneous predictions to facilitate comparison across segmentation methods. We applied these methods in 2 datasets: the human activity recognition using smartphones (HARuS) dataset where a total of 30 adults performed activities of approximately equal duration (approximately 20 seconds each) while wearing a waist-worn smartphone, and the Biomedical REAl-Time Health Evaluation for Pediatric Asthma (BREATHE) dataset where a total of 14 children performed 6 activities for approximately 10 min each while wearing a smartwatch. To mimic a real-world scenario, we generated artificial unequal activity bout durations in the BREATHE data by randomly subdividing each activity bout into 10 segments and randomly concatenating the 60 activity bouts. Each dataset was divided into ~90% training and ~10% holdout testing. RESULTS: In the HARuS data, GGS produced the least noisy predictions of 6 physical activities and had the second highest accuracy rate of 91.06% (the highest accuracy rate was 91.79% for the sliding window of size 0.8 second). In the BREATHE data, GGS again produced the least noisy predictions and had the highest accuracy rate of 79.4% of predictions for 6 physical activities. CONCLUSIONS: In a scenario with variable duration activity bouts, GGS multivariate segmentation produced smart-sized windows with more stable predictions and a higher accuracy rate than traditional fixed-size sliding window approaches. Overall, accuracy was good in both datasets but, as expected, it was slightly lower in the more real-world study using wrist-worn smartwatches in children (BREATHE) than in the more tightly controlled study using waist-worn smartphones in adults (HARuS). We implemented GGS in an offline setting, but it could be adapted for real-time prediction with streaming data.

Accuracy of Samsung Gear S Smartwatch for Activity Recognition: Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Wearable accelerometers have greatly improved measurement of physical activity, and the increasing popularity of smartwatches with inherent acceleration data collection suggest their potential use in the physical activity research domain; however, their use needs to be validated. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the validity of accelerometer data collected from a Samsung Gear S smartwatch (SGS) compared with an ActiGraph GT3X+ (GT3X+) activity monitor. The study aims were to (1) assess SGS validity using a mechanical shaker; (2) assess SGS validity using a treadmill running test; and (3) compare individual activity recognition, location of major body movement detection, activity intensity detection, locomotion recognition, and metabolic equivalent scores (METs) estimation between the SGS and GT3X+. METHODS: To validate and compare the SGS accelerometer data with GT3X+ data, we collected data simultaneously from both devices during highly controlled, mechanically simulated, and less-controlled natural wear conditions. First, SGS and GT3X+ data were simultaneously collected from a mechanical shaker and an individual ambulating on a treadmill. Pearson correlation was calculated for mechanical shaker and treadmill experiments. Finally, SGS and GT3X+ data were simultaneously collected during 15 common daily activities performed by 40 participants (n=12 males, mean age 55.15 [SD 17.8] years). A total of 15 frequency- and time-domain features were extracted from SGS and GT3X+ data. We used these features for training machine learning models on 6 tasks: (1) individual activity recognition, (2) activity intensity detection, (3) locomotion recognition, (4) sedentary activity detection, (5) major body movement location detection, and (6) METs estimation. The classification models included random forest, support vector machines, neural networks, and decision trees. The results were compared between devices. We evaluated the effect of different feature extraction window lengths on model accuracy as defined by the percentage of correct classifications. In addition to these classification tasks, we also used the extracted features for METs estimation. RESULTS: The results were compared between devices. Accelerometer data from SGS were highly correlated with the accelerometer data from GT3X+ for all 3 axes, with a correlation ≥.89 for both the shaker test and treadmill test and ≥.70 for all daily activities, except for computer work. Our results for the classification of activity intensity levels, locomotion, sedentary, major body movement location, and individual activity recognition showed overall accuracies of 0.87, 1.00, 0.98, 0.85, and 0.64, respectively. The results were not significantly different between the SGS and GT3X+. Random forest model was the best model for METs estimation (root mean squared error of .71 and r-squared value of .50). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a commercial brand smartwatch can be used in lieu of validated research grade activity monitors for individual activity recognition, major body movement location detection, activity intensity detection, and locomotion detection tasks.

Alexithymia predicts poorer social and everyday functioning in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Alexithymia, or the inability to identify and describe one's emotions, is significantly higher in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SZ), compared to healthy controls (HC). Alexithymia has also been observed to predict psychosocial functioning in SZ. We investigated whether alexithymia predicted social and everyday functioning in BD, as well as transdiagnostically in HC, BD, and SZ patients. 56 BD, 45 SZ, and 50 HC were administered and compared on tests measuring neurocognition, social cognition, functioning and alexithymia. We conducted linear regressions assessing whether alexithymia predicted functional outcomes in BD. Next, we conducted hierarchical stepwise linear regressions investigating the predictive ability of neurocognition, social cognition and alexithymia on everyday and social functioning in our overall sample. BD and SZ patients were comparable on most demographics and demonstrated higher alexithymia compared to HCs. In BD, alexithymia predicted social functioning only. In the overall sample, difficulty identifying and describing feelings predicted everyday functioning; difficulty describing feelings predicted social functioning. Results suggest that aspects of alexithymia significantly predict functioning among these psychiatric groups, above and beyond the contributions of previously identified factors such as neurocognition and social cognition. Results may aid in developing proper interventions aimed at improving patients' ability to articulate their feelings.

Role of valued living and associations with functional outcome following traumatic brain injury.

Valued living (VL) is associated with improved enjoyment and engagement with daily activities despite negative emotional state or ongoing pain. However, the role of VL in recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI) has yet to be investigated. This study aimed to examine changes in VL over the course of recovery and variables associated with VL. Participants with moderate-to-severe TBI were recruited from a rehabilitation hospital in three cohorts: "Early" (n = 25), "Mid" (n = 9) and "Late" (n = 36) post-TBI. All participants were assessed at time of recruitment and 12 months later. The main measure was the Valued Living Questionnaire. Compared to pre-injury estimates, VL was significantly reduced at 12 months post-injury. Levels of VL remained reduced between 2 and 3 years and increased between 3 and 6 years post-injury. VL was strongly associated with improved functional and psychosocial outcomes. Changes in VL occur over at least 3-5 years post-injury, with 12 months post-TBI a suitable time for intervention given VL remains low over the next 24 to 36 months post injury. Targeted intervention to modify values and/or valued activities to be consistent with post-injury capacity could improve rates of return to pre-injury levels of VL.

Outdoor malaria transmission risks and social life: a qualitative study in South-Eastern Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Behaviour changes in mosquitoes from indoor to outdoor biting result in continuing risk of malaria from outdoor activities, including routine household activities and occasional social and cultural practices and gatherings. This study aimed to identify the range of social and cultural gatherings conducted outdoors and their associated risks for mosquito bites. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four villages in the Kilombero Valley from November 2015 to March 2016. Observations, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews were conducted. The recorded data were transcribed and translated from Swahili to English. Thematic content analysis was used to identify perspectives on the importance of various social and cultural gatherings that incidentally expose people to mosquito bites and malaria infection. RESULTS: Religious, cultural and social gatherings involving the wider community are conducted outdoors at night till dawn. Celebrations include life course events, religious and cultural ceremonies, such as Holy Communion, weddings, gatherings at Easter and Christmas, male circumcision, and rituals conducted to please the gods and to remember the dead. These celebrations, at which there is minimal use of interventions to prevent bites, contribute to individual satisfaction and social capital, helping to maintain a cohesive society. Bed net use while sleeping outdoors during mourning is unacceptable, and there is minimal use of other interventions, such as topical repellents. Long sleeve clothes are used for protection from mosquito bites but provide less protection. CONCLUSION: Gatherings and celebrations expose people to mosquito bites. Approaches to prevent risks of mosquito bites and disease management need to take into account social, cultural and environmental factors. Area specific interventions may be expensive, yet may be the best approach to reduce risk of infection as endemic countries work towards elimination. Focusing on single interventions will not yield the best outcomes for malaria prevention as social contexts and vector behaviour vary.

Multiple dimensions of biodiversity drive human interest in tide pool communities.

Activities involving observation of wild organisms (e.g. wildlife watching, tidepooling) can provide recreational and learning opportunities, with biologically diverse animal assemblages expected to be more stimulating to humans. In turn, more diverse communities may enhance human interest and facilitate provisioning of cultural services. However, no experimental tests of this biodiversity-interest hypothesis exist to date. We therefore investigated the effects of different dimensions of animal biodiversity (species richness, phyletic richness and functional diversity) on self-reported interest using tide pools as a model system. We performed two experiments by manipulating: (1) the richness of lower (species) and higher taxonomic levels (phyla) in an image based, online survey, and (2) the richness of the higher taxonomic level (phyla) in live public exhibits. In both experiments, we further quantified functional diversity, which varied freely, and within the online experiment we also included the hue diversity and colourfulness arising from the combination of organisms and the background scenes. Interest was increased by phyletic richness (both studies), animal species richness (online study) and functional diversity (online study). A structural equation model revealed that functional diversity and colourfulness (of the whole scene) also partially mediated the effects of phyletic richness on interest in the online study. In both studies, the presence of three of four phyla additively increased interest, supporting the importance of multiple, diverse phyla rather than a single particularly interesting phylum. These results provide novel experimental evidence that multiple dimensions of biodiversity enhance human interest and suggest that conservation initiatives that maintain or restore biodiversity will help stimulate interest in ecosystems, facilitating educational and recreational benefits.