Manifestations, social impact, and decay of conceptual beliefs: A cultural perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Believing comprises multifaceted processes that integrate information from the outside world through meaning-making processes with personal relevance. METHODS: Qualitative Review of the current literature in social cognitive neuroscience. RESULTS: Although believing develops rapidly outside an individual's conscious awareness, it results in the formation of beliefs that are stored in memory and play an important role in determining an individual's behavior. Primal beliefs reflect an individual's experience of objects and events, whereas conceptual beliefs are based on narratives that are held in social groups. Conceptual beliefs can be about autobiographical, political, religious, and other aspects of life and may be encouraged by participation in group rituals. We hypothesize that assertions of future gains and rewards that transcend but are inherent in these codices provide incentives to follow the norms and rules of social groups. CONCLUSION: The power of conceptual beliefs to provide cultural orientation is likely to fade when circumstances and evidence make it clear that what was asserted no longer applies.

Suicide and mortality following self-harm in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities in Victoria, Australia: insights from a data linkage study.

Background: While cultural backgrounds are well-documented to be relevant to intentional self-harm, little is known about how cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds affect mortality outcomes following self-harm. Aim: This study aimed to compare the risk of all-cause mortality and suicide after intentional hospital admissions for self-harm among people from CALD (vs. non-CALD) backgrounds. Method: Linked hospital and mortality data in Victoria, Australia, was used to assess suicide and all-cause death after hospital admissions for self-harm among patients aged 15+ years. All-cause death was identified by following up on 42,122 self-harm patients (hospitalized between 01 July 2007 and 30 June 2019) until death or 15 February 2021. Suicide death was evaluated in 16,928 self-harm inpatients (01 January 2013 and 31 December 2017) until death or 28 March 2018. Cox regression models were fitted to compare mortality outcomes in self-harm patients from CALD vs. non-CALD backgrounds. Outcomes: During the follow-up periods, 3,716 of 42,122 (8.8%) participants died by any cause (by 15 February 2021), and 304 of 16,928 (1.8%) people died by suicide (by 28 March 2018). Compared to the non-CALD group, CALD intentional self-harm inpatients had a 20% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.7-0.9) and a 30% lower risk of suicide (HR: 0.7, 95% CI: 049-0.97). Specifically, being from North Africa/Middle East and Asian backgrounds lowered the all-cause mortality risk; however, the suicide risk in Asians was as high as in non-CALD people. Conclusion: Overall, people from CALD backgrounds exhibited lower risks of all-cause mortality and suicide following hospital admission for self-harm compared to the non-CALD group. However, when comparing risks based on regions of birth, significant variations were observed. These findings underscore the importance of implementing culturally tailored background-specific suicide preventive actions. The study focussed on outcomes following hospital admission for self-harm and did not capture outcomes for cases of self-harm that did not result in hospital admission. This limits generalisability, as some CALD people might avoid accessing healthcare after self-harm due to cultural factors. Future research that not limited to hospital data is suggested to build on the results.

Electromagnetic Energy Harvester Targeting Wearable and Biomedical Applications.

This work presents a miniaturized electromagnetic energy harvester (EMEH) based on two coils moving in a head-to-head permanent magnet tower. The two coils are separated by a set distance so that the applied force moves the EMEH from one equilibrium position to another. In this configuration, the harvester produces energy in two different working modes: when a force is applied to the moving part or when an external random acceleration is applied to the whole system. A custom test bench has been designed to characterize the behavior of this energy harvester under a variety of conditions encountered in wearable applications. Notably, at 10 Hz and 1.32 g RMS acceleration, our inertial EMEH demonstrates its capability to sustain a consistent output power of 1696 µW within a total volume of 22.39 cm3, showcasing its efficiency in environments with erratic stimuli typical of wearable and biomedical applications. The presented EMEH is compared with reported inertial EMEH structures to extract its design limitations as well as future improvements, situating the present work in a comprehensive state-of-the-art and defining a generic performance target for biomedical and wearable applications.

Psychobiography in sociocultural context: the application of culture-based theories of psychology on a culturally diverse historic subject pool.

In recent years the historical subject base in psychobiography has expanded from a traditional focus on White (Caucasian) subjects to a broader more culturally inclusive population of significant personalities throughout history. A critical component of strong multicultural psychobiography is the inclusion of anchoring theories of psychology that are rooted in socio-cultural-political context. To psychologically profile culturally diverse individuals with only traditional Western theories of psychology and psychiatry (e.g. medical models, psychodynamic, existential, cognitive-behavioral) limits the ability of the research to accurately capture the erlebnis (lived experience) of extraordinary individuals in proper cultural context. This article reviews specific psychological theories that have recently set a foundation for more nuanced and culturally contextualised psychological profiles of historic personalities who represent diverse racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds. Among the theories covered are the Integrated African Psychology Perspective (IAPP), an Indigenous (Native American) model of psychobiography, as well as theories and models on Psychological Nigrescence (Black racial identity development), Intersectionality, Politicised Collective Identity (PCI), Queered Black Racial Identity Development (QBRID), and Adultification of Black Children, among others. Examples of applications of these culture-centered theories to psychobiography, drawn from the present authors recently completed psychobiographies, as well as from other researchers internationally, are presented.

Tools and methods for high-throughput single-cell imaging with the mother machine.

Despite much progress, image processing remains a significant bottleneck for high-throughput analysis of microscopy data. One popular platform for single-cell time-lapse imaging is the mother machine, which enables long-term tracking of microbial cells under precisely controlled growth conditions. While several mother machine image analysis pipelines have been developed in the past several years, adoption by a non-expert audience remains a challenge. To fill this gap, we implemented our own software, MM3, as a plugin for the multidimensional image viewer napari. napari-MM3 is a complete and modular image analysis pipeline for mother machine data, which takes advantage of the high-level interactivity of napari. Here, we give an overview of napari-MM3 and test it against several well-designed and widely used image analysis pipelines, including BACMMAN and DeLTA. Researchers often analyze mother machine data with custom scripts using varied image analysis methods, but a quantitative comparison of the output of different pipelines has been lacking. To this end, we show that key single-cell physiological parameter correlations and distributions are robust to the choice of analysis method. However, we also find that small changes in thresholding parameters can systematically alter parameters extracted from single-cell imaging experiments. Moreover, we explicitly show that in deep learning-based segmentation, 'what you put is what you get' (WYPIWYG) - that is, pixel-level variation in training data for cell segmentation can propagate to the model output and bias spatial and temporal measurements. Finally, while the primary purpose of this work is to introduce the image analysis software that we have developed over the last decade in our lab, we also provide information for those who want to implement mother machine-based high-throughput imaging and analysis methods in their research.

Cultural worldviews and waste sorting among urban Chinese dwellers: the mediating role of environmental risk perception.

Objective: Waste sorting has received considerable attention in recent decades. However, research on the mechanisms underlying the relationships among cultural worldview, environmental risk perception, and waste sorting is rather scarce. This study aims to explore the cultural worldviews, environmental risk perception, and waste sorting among urban Chinese and their mechanisms. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 744 urban Chinese residents (371 men and 373 women). A questionnaire was utilized to measure cultural worldviews, environmental risk perception, and waste sorting. Pearson correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were used to examine the relationship between cultural worldviews, perceptions of environmental risk, and waste sorting. Results: Waste sorting had a relatively insignificant negative relationship with fatalism and individualism. The correlation between environmental risk perception and cultural worldviews was negative except for egalitarianism, and the correlation between hierarchy and environmental risk perception was higher than the others, while individualism was higher than fatalism. Heightened environmental risk perception mediates the relationship between egalitarianism and waste sorting. Reduced environmental risk perception mediates the relationship between hierarchy and waste sorting, and mediates the relationship between individualism and waste sorting. Conclusion: These new findings provide initial support for the mediating role of environmental risk perception in the relationship between cultural worldviews and waste sorting. Both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the psychological mechanisms of waste sorting are discussed.

Research progress on ecological adaptation and prevention of Parengyodontium album on the surface of cultural relics.

Cultural relics as the crystallization of human history are non-renewable and irreplaceable resources. Microorganisms are widely colonized on ancient wall paintings, stone cultural relics, and other types of cultural heritages to cause harm. The dominant disease fungus, Parengyodontium album, is extensively distributed and can seriously threaten the long-term preservation of precious cultural heritage due to surviving in various cultural relics and extreme environments. The classification and nomenclature of P. album have undergone several changes, so its impact on cultural relic received little attention. Here, we summarized the brief histories of its classification and development, distribution range, and cultural heritage preference of P. album. We further analyzed the physiological, biochemical, and ecological characteristics and potential biological degradation mechanism. We proposed that P. album could be used as an indicative species of microbial hazardous effects on cultural heritage. We discussed the prevention and control countermeasures of such typical mural microorganisms and pointed out key research directions in this field.

A deep learning-based dynamic deformable adaptive framework for locating the root region of the dynamic flames.

Traditional optical flame detectors (OFDs) in flame detection are susceptible to environmental interference, which will inevitably cause detection errors and miscalculations when confronted with a complex environment. The conventional deep learning-based models can mitigate the interference of complex environments by flame image feature extraction, which significantly improves the precision of flame recognition. However, these models focus on identifying the general profile of the static flame, but neglect to effectively locate the source of the dynamic flame. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel dynamic flame detection method named Dynamic Deformable Adaptive Framework (DDAF) for locating the flame root region dynamically. Specifically, to address limitations in flame feature extraction of existing detection models, the Deformable Convolution Network v2 (DCNv2) is introduced for more flexible adaptation to the deformations and scale variations of target objects. The Context Augmentation Module (CAM) is used to convey flame features into Dynamic Head (DH) to feature extraction from different aspects. Subsequently, the Layer-Adaptive Magnitude-based Pruning (LAMP) where the connection with the smallest LAMP score is pruned sequentially is employed to further enhance the speed of model detection. More importantly, both the coarse- and fine-grained location techniques are designed in the Inductive Modeling (IM) to accurately delineate the flame root region for effective fire control. Additionally, the Temporal Consistency-based Detection (TCD) contributes to improving the robustness of model detection by leveraging the temporal information presented in consecutive frames of a video sequence. Compared with the classical deep learning method, the experimental results on the custom flame dataset demonstrate that the AP0.5 value is improved by 4.4%, while parameters and FLOPs are reduced by 25.3% and 25.9%, respectively. The framework of this research extends applicability to a variety of flame detection scenarios, including industrial safety and combustion process control.

Oaxaca: El viaje al más allá / Oaxaca: A jornada para a vida após a morte / Oaxaca: The journey to the afterlife

La función del ajuar funerario para el viaje al más allá formaparte esencial de los ritos y rituales funerarios de Oaxaca.La ideología de la iglesia es que una vez que estas muerta,el alma va directa al cielo, al purgatorio o al infierno. Lospueblos indígenas de Oaxaca tienen una visión mucho máscompleja y matizada. La sombra, no el alma, sigue presente enestado liminal, observadora consciente. Hay pocos estudiossobre prácticas funerarias de rituales del ajuar funerario y lacosmovisión en regiones indígenas. El objetivo es describirprácticas funerarias en comunidades indígenas del sur deOaxaca y su sentido simbólico. Se realizaron entrevistasen profundidad con 73 personas mayores indígenas quiendescribieran los objetos enterrados, sus propósitos, el viajedurante la novena y el final, la Tierra de los Muertos. Elconocimiento de las creencias y prácticas representa unacercamiento a las estrategias cognitivas y emocionales de lascomunidades. Nos permite adentrarnos en el conocimiento yrespeto de su organización social y cosmovisión. La enseñanzay práctica no pueden ser adecuada sin una conciencia delas diversidades en las creencias sobre la muerte, el viaje almás allá y la Tierra de los Muertos.(AU)

The function of the funerary trousseau for the journey tothe afterlife is an essential part of the funerary rites andrituals of Oaxaca. The church’s ideology is that once dead,the soul goes straight to heaven, purgatory, or hell. Theindigenous peoples of Oaxaca have a much more complexand nuanced view. The shadow, not the soul, is still presentin a liminal state, a conscious observer. There are few studieson funerary practices, grave goods rituals and cosmovision in indigenous regions. The objective is to describe funeralpractices in indigenous communities in southern Oaxaca andtheir symbolic meaning. In-depth interviews were conductedwith 73 indigenous elderly people who described the buriedobjects, their purposes, the nine-day journey to the Landof the Dead. Knowledge of beliefs and practices representsan approach to the cognitive and emotional strategies ofcommunities. It allows us to delve into the knowledge andrespect of their social organization and worldview. Teachingand practice cannot be adequate without an awareness of thediversities in beliefs about death, the journey to the afterlifeand the Land of the Dead.(AU)

A função do enxoval funerário para a viagem ao além éparte essencial dos ritos e rituais funerários de Oaxaca. Aideologia da igreja é que, uma vez morto, sua alma vai diretopara o céu, purgatório ou inferno. Os povos indígenas deOaxaca têm uma visão muito mais complexa e matizada.A sombra, não a alma, ainda está presente em um estadoliminar, um observador consciente. Existem poucos estudossobre práticas funerárias, rituais funerários e visão de mundoem regiões indígenas. O objetivo é descrever as práticasfunerárias em comunidades indígenas do sul de Oaxaca eseu significado simbólico. Foram realizadas entrevistas emprofundidade com 73 idosos indígenas que descreveram osobjetos enterrados, suas finalidades, a jornada durante a nonae a última, a Terra dos Mortos. O conhecimento de crenças epráticas representa uma aproximação às estratégias cognitivase emocionais das comunidades. Permite-nos aprofundar noconhecimento e respeito de sua organização social e visãode mundo. O ensino e a prática não podem ser adequadossem a consciência das diversidades de crenças sobre a morte,a jornada para a vida após a morte e a Terra dos Mortos.(AU)

Creencias sobre prácticas de alimentación y obesidad de madres con hijos menores de 5 años del noroeste de México / Crenças sobre práticas de alimentação e obesidade entre mães com filhos menores de 5 anos de idade no noroeste do México / Beliefs about feeding practices and obesity among mothers with children under 5 years of age in northwestern Mexico

Introducción: Existe una tendencia mundial de incrementoen los índices de sobrepeso y obesidad en niños menoresde 5 años. Las creencias, percepciones y actitudes de lasmadres hacia las prácticas de alimentación y la obesidadtienen implicaciones directas sobre la salud del hijo.Objetivo: Explorar creencias sobre prácticas de alimentacióny obesidad infantil entre madres con hijos menores de cincoaños del noroeste de México.Metodología: Estudio cualitativo de aproximación etnográfica.Mediante un muestreo propositivo se realizaron nueve entrevistassemiestructuradas a mujeres que contaban con un promediode 12 años de educación.Resultados: Las creencias incluyeron inseguridad para asumirel rol de madre, una baja percepción de apoyo familiar ycreencias que no se alineaban con las recomendaciones dela lactancia materna exclusiva e introducción de alimentoscomplementarios. Además, estas tenían la creencia de que laobesidad no es un problema debido a la corta edad de sus hijos.Conclusiones: Existe una ambivalencia entre las creencias delas participantes y sus prácticas con relación a la alimentacióny la obesidad infantil. Es imperativo desarrollar estrategiasde educación y comunicación que proporcionen informaciónbasada en evidencia, de fácil acceso y disponible para madrescon la intención de prevenir problemas de nutrición durantela primera infancia.(AU)

Introduction: There is a worldwide trend of increasingrates of overweight and obesity in children under5 years of age. Mothers' beliefs, perceptions, andattitudes towards feeding practices and obesity havedirect implications on their children's health.Aim: To explore beliefs about feeding practices andchildhood obesity among mothers with children underfive years of age in northwestern Mexico.Methodology: Qualitative study with ethnographicapproach. Using purposive sampling, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with womenwith an average of 12 years of education.Results: Beliefs included insecurity in assuming therole of mother, a low perception of family support, andbeliefs that were not aligned with the recommendations ofexclusive breastfeeding and introduction of complementary foods. In addition, these held the belief that obesity isnot a problem due to the young age of their children.Conclusions: There is ambivalence between theparticipants' beliefs and their practices regarding feedingand childhood obesity. It is imperative to developeducation and communication strategies that provideevidence-based information that is easily accessibleand available to mothers to prevent nutrition problemsduring early childhood.(AU)

Introdução: Há uma tendência mundial de aumentodas taxas de sobrepeso e obesidade em crianças commenos de 5 anos de idade. As crenças, percepções eatitudes das mães com relação às práticas alimentares eà obesidade têm implicações diretas na saúde infantil.Objetivo: explorar as crenças sobre práticas de alimentaçãoe obesidade infantil entre mães de crianças com menosde cinco anos de idade no noroeste do México.Metodologia: estudo qualitativo com uma abordagemetnográfica. Usando amostragem intencional, foramrealizadas nove entrevistas semiestruturadas commulheres com uma média de 12 anos de escolaridade.Resultados: As crenças incluíam insegurança em assumiro papel de mãe, baixa percepção de apoio familiar ecrenças que não se alinhavam com as recomendaçõesde amamentação exclusiva e introdução de alimentoscomplementares. Além disso, elas acreditavam quea obesidade não era um problema devido à poucaidade de seus filhos.Conclusões: Há uma ambivalência entre as crenças epráticas dos participantes com relação à alimentaçãoe à obesidade infantil. É imperativo desenvolverestratégias de educação e comunicação que forneçaminformações baseadas em evidências, facilmenteacessíveis e disponíveis para as mães, a fim de evitarproblemas de nutrição na primeira infância.(AU)

Significados y prácticas de salud como ausencia de enfermedad en universitarios / Significados e práticas de saúde como ausência de adoecimento em universitários / Meanings and practices of health as absenceof disease in university students

Introducción: Los jóvenes universitarios están expuestos acambios y transiciones que marcarán su salud en la adultez.Sus decisiones se traducen en comportamientos que puedenser saludables o no, y dependen del significado de saludque se construye de conocimientos adquiridos, tradicioneso costumbres culturales.Objetivo: Comprender la influencia que tiene la culturauniversitaria en la construcción del significado y prácticasde salud en estudiantes de pregrado de una sede, en unauniversidad privada en Colombia.Metodología: Estudio cualitativo, tipo etnografía. Participaron15 estudiantes, 11 profesores y profesionales de BienestarUniversitario. Se aplicó una entrevista semiestructuradavirtual, se procesaron los datos, y se sometieron a auditoría.Resultados: El significado de salud responde a una perspectivaindividual y biopsicosocial; existe una fuerte influencia delentorno cercano y universitario en la significación y lasprácticas de salud. Los hallazgos tienen similitud con otrosestudios del ámbito internacional.Conclusiones: Se logró comprender la alta importanciaque se da a la salud, entendiéndola principalmente comoausencia de enfermedad, reflejada en creencias, valores yprácticas. Se proponen unos retos, necesarios enfrentar, parahacer a las universidades promotoras del concepto amplioy renovado de la salud.(AU)

Introduction: Young university students are exposedto changes and transitions that will influence theirhealth in adulthood. Their decisions translate intobehaviors that may or may not be healthy and aredependent on their meaning of health that is built uponacquired knowledge, traditions, or cultural customs.The objective of this study is to understand howuniversity cul-ture influences undergraduate studentsin establishing health practices and the meaning ofhealth at a private university in Colombia.Methodology: In this ethnographic, qualitative study, 15students, 11 professors, and UW (University Wellfare)professionals were included. A virtual semi-structuredinterview was used and data were coded and audited.Results: The results show the meaning of health dependson individual and biopsychosocial perspectives; thereis a strong influence of the immediate environment,such as family and university on the meaning andpractices of health. The findings are similar to otherinternational studies.Conclusions: It was possible to understand the highimportance given to health, which is mainly under-stood as the absence of disease, reflected in beliefs,values and practices. Some necessary challenges areproposed to be faced to make universities promotersof the broad and renewed concept of health.(AU)

Introdução: Jovens universitários estão expostos amudanças e transições que influenciarão sua saúdena vida adulta. Suas decisões se traduzem emcomportamentos que podem ou não ser saudáveise dependem de seu significado de saúde construídoa partir de conhecimentos adquiridos, tradições oucostumes culturais.Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo é compreender comoa cultura universitária influencia os estudantes degraduação no estabelecimento de práticas de saúde eo significado de saúde em uma universidade privadana Colômbia.Metodologia: Neste estudo etnográfico, qualitativo,foram incluídos 15 alunos, 11 professores e profissionaisda UW (University Wellfare). Foi utilizada umaentrevista virtual semiestruturada e os dados foramcodificados e auditados.Resultados: Os resultados mostram que o significadode saúde depende de perspectivas individuais ebiopsicossociais; há forte influência do ambienteimediato e universitário no significado e nas práticasde saúde. Os resultados são semelhantes a outrosestudos internacionais.Conclusões: Foi possível compreender a elevadaimportância dada à saúde, entendendo-a principalmentecomo ausência de doença, refletida em crenças, valorese práticas. Propõem-se alguns desafios necessáriosa serem enfrentados para tornar as universidadespromotoras do conceito amplo e renovado de saúde.(AU)

A Passive Ankle Dorsiflexion Testing System for an In Vivo Model of Overuse-induced Tendinopathy.

Tendinopathy is a chronic tendon condition that results in pain and loss of function and is caused by repeated overload of the tendon and limited recovery time. This protocol describes a testing system that cyclically applies mechanical loads via passive dorsiflexion to the rat Achilles tendon. The custom-written code consists of pre- and post-cyclic loading measurements to assess the effects of the loading protocol along with the feedback control-based cyclic fatigue loading regimen. We used 25 Sprague-Dawley rats for this study, with 5 rats per group receiving either 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,600, or 7,200 cycles of fatigue loads. The percentage differences between the pre- and post-cyclic loading measurements of the hysteresis, peak stress, and loading and unloading moduli were calculated. The results demonstrate that the system can induce varying degrees of damage to the Achilles tendon based on the number of loads applied. This system offers an innovative approach to apply quantified and physiological varying degrees of cyclic loads to the Achilles tendon for an in vivo model of fatigue-induced overuse tendon injury.

An open-source, high-resolution, automated fluorescence microscope.

Fluorescence microscopy is a fundamental tool in the life sciences, but the availability of sophisticated equipment required to yield high-quality, quantitative data is a major bottleneck in data production in many laboratories worldwide. This problem has long been recognized and the abundancy of low-cost electronics and the simplification of fabrication through 3D-printing have led to the emergence of open-source scientific hardware as a research field. Cost effective fluorescence microscopes can be assembled from cheaply mass-produced components, but lag behind commercial solutions in image quality. On the other hand, blueprints of sophisticated microscopes such as light-sheet or super-resolution systems, custom-assembled from high quality parts, are available, but require a high level of expertise from the user. Here, we combine the UC2 microscopy toolbox with high-quality components and integrated electronics and software to assemble an automated high-resolution fluorescence microscope. Using this microscope, we demonstrate high resolution fluorescence imaging for fixed and live samples. When operated inside an incubator, long-term live-cell imaging over several days was possible. Our microscope reaches single molecule sensitivity, and we performed single particle tracking and SMLM super-resolution microscopy experiments in cells. Our setup costs a fraction of its commercially available counterparts but still provides a maximum of capabilities and image quality. We thus provide a proof of concept that high quality scientific data can be generated by lay users with a low-budget system and open-source software. Our system can be used for routine imaging in laboratories that do not have the means to acquire commercial systems and through its affordability can serve as teaching material to students.

The association between family cohesion and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have analyzed the association between family cohesion and depression, but there are different views and the results are inconsistent. It is necessary to use meta-analysis to explore the association between family cohesion and depression and its influencing factors. METHODS: Chinese database (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) and English databases (ERIC, MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, Elsevier SD, PsycINFO, PsycArticles, and ProQuest dissertations and theses) were searched for articles published by November 2023. Measurements of family cohesion and depression, study design, age, gender, cultural background, and sampling year were analyzed as moderators. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model in CMA3.0 software. RESULTS: A total of 71 studies (90,023 participants) were included in this study. The meta-analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between family cohesion and depression (r = -0.31, 95 % CI [-0.35, -0.27]). The association was moderated by measurements of family cohesion and depression, design type, and cultural background, but not by age, gender, or sampling year. LIMITATIONS: The sample size included in this study is relatively small in European and African cultures, making it challenging to analyze cultural differences in the study results at present comprehensively. CONCLUSIONS: The findings contribute to the ongoing debate between Social Support Theory and The Circumplex Model, showing that individuals with lower family cohesion tend to experience higher levels of depression.

Bumblebees socially learn behaviour too complex to innovate alone.

Culture refers to behaviours that are socially learned and persist within a population over time. Increasing evidence suggests that animal culture can, like human culture, be cumulative: characterized by sequential innovations that build on previous ones1. However, human cumulative culture involves behaviours so complex that they lie beyond the capacity of any individual to independently discover during their lifetime1-3. To our knowledge, no study has so far demonstrated this phenomenon in an invertebrate. Here we show that bumblebees can learn from trained demonstrator bees to open a novel two-step puzzle box to obtain food rewards, even though they fail to do so independently. Experimenters were unable to train demonstrator bees to perform the unrewarded first step without providing a temporary reward linked to this action, which was removed during later stages of training. However, a third of naive observer bees learned to open the two-step box from these demonstrators, without ever being rewarded after the first step. This suggests that social learning might permit the acquisition of behaviours too complex to 're-innovate' through individual learning. Furthermore, naive bees failed to open the box despite extended exposure for up to 24 days. This finding challenges a common opinion in the field: that the capacity to socially learn behaviours that cannot be innovated through individual trial and error is unique to humans.

Retracted memories in the general population: are there differences between eastern and western countries?

The main purpose of the current studies was to examine retracted experiences in the general population from various cultural backgrounds. More specifically, in two studies, we examined the details of memory retraction experiences, the reasons for retraction, and the outcomes of retraction in participants from China and other countries, mainly the United States of America. It was found that memory retraction experiences appeared to be quite common. In the sample of Chinese participants (Study 1: N = 1380), 50.58% reported at least one such an experience, whereas in respondents from other countries (Study 2; N = 425), a significantly lower but still substantial prevalence rate of 35% was found. In general, the retracted memories predominantly involved positive events and some respondents experienced pressure during the withdrawal. Social feedback and event plausibility were the two main reasons for the withdrawal. Compared to recollection scores, belief scores decreased significantly after withdrawal, and some respondents even formed nonbelieved memories. After retracting the memories, most respondents felt they gained benefits (e.g., they had resolved a psychological problem that had bothered them for years). These studies give us a more general understanding of retracted memory experiences in the general population.

The mnemonic effect of central and peripheral misinformation on social media.

The increasing use of social media has amplified the spread of false information. Yet little is known about the mnemonic consequences associated with exposure to different types of false information online. In two studies, we examined in a simulated online context how exposure to false information either central or peripheral in events affected memory. European American and Asian/Asian American college students (Study 1 N = 200; Study 2 N = 225) were presented with GIFs of daily life events and read tweets about the events that included four types of information: central true information, central false information, peripheral true information, and peripheral false information. They then took a True/False recognition test that included tweeted and untweeted true and false information and indicated how confident they were in their responses. Regardless of cultural background, participants in both studies demonstrated the misinformation effect, whereby they falsely recognised more and resisted less tweeted than untweeted false information. Furthermore, they showed higher susceptibility to peripheral than central false information exposed via tweets. Asian participants were less influenced by misinformation than European Americans in Study 2. These findings have important implications to combat misinformation in online environments.

CUSCO: An Unobtrusive Custom Secure Audio-Visual Recording System for Ambient Assisted Living.

The ubiquity of digital technology has facilitated detailed recording of human behaviour. Ambient technology has been used to capture behaviours in a broad range of applications ranging from healthcare and monitoring to assessment of cooperative work. However, existing systems often face challenges in terms of autonomy, usability, and privacy. This paper presents a portable, easy-to-use and privacy-preserving system for capturing behavioural signals unobtrusively in home or in office settings. The system focuses on the capture of audio, video, and depth imaging. It is based on a device built on a small-factor platform that incorporates ambient sensors which can be integrated with the audio and depth video hardware for multimodal behaviour tracking. The system can be accessed remotely and integrated into a network of sensors. Data are encrypted in real time to ensure safety and privacy. We illustrate uses of the device in two different settings, namely, a healthy-ageing IoT application, where the device is used in conjunction with a range of IoT sensors to monitor an older person's mental well-being at home, and a healthcare communication quality assessment application, where the device is used to capture a patient-clinician interaction for consultation quality appraisal. CUSCO can automatically detect active speakers, extract acoustic features, record video and depth streams, and recognise emotions and cognitive impairment with promising accuracy.