Everyday Life Settings Research Articles

Associations Between Every day and Medical Setting-Based Discrimination and Religious and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Muslim Americans: Findings from a National Survey.

We investigated the associations between sociodemographic factors, religiosity traits, and the perception of discrimination among Muslim Americans in both everyday life and medical settings. A self-administered web-based questionnaire, comprising validated measures of discrimination and religiosity, was completed by a convenience sample of English-speaking adult Muslim Americans, recruited through both in-person and online channels. Among the 1281 respondents, less than half were born in the USA (46%), and a significant portion displayed visible religious markers, such as wearing a hijab or having a beard (61%). Only 154 (12%) reported never experiencing everyday discrimination, while 358 (28%) reported not experiencing discrimination in medical settings. In a multivariable linear regression model, greater perceived everyday discrimination (β = 1.053, p < 0.01) was positively associated with greater discrimination in medical settings. Participants more comfortable self-identifying as Muslim in hospital settings (β = -0.395, p < 0.05) were less likely to perceive healthcare discrimination. Those visibly expressing their religiosity (β = 0.779, p < 0.01) and those with greater intrinsic religiosity (β = 0.231, p < 0.05) were more likely to encounter everyday discrimination. Conversely, older participants (β = -0.015, p < 0.05), adult immigrants to the US (β = -0.375, p < 0.05), those in better health (β = -0.157, p < 0.05), and those more comfortable identifying as Muslim (β = -0.305, p < 0.05) had lower perceptions of everyday discrimination. This study underscores the significance of the relationship between religiosity characteristics and experiences of both hospital and everyday discrimination for Muslim Americans.

Democratizing EEG: Embedding Electroencephalography in a Head-Mounted Display for Ubiquitous Brain-Computer Interfacing

Open hardware and the need for ecologically valid measurements drive the Electroencephalography (EEG) democratization movement—EEG has been steadily transcending the boundaries of clinical research, making its way into interdisciplinary fields. In Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), EEG is used to measure cognitive workload and infer cognitive processes for building cognition-aware systems. We describe and evaluate our BCIglass prototype where EEG electrodes are embedded in the frame of a mainstream Head-Mounted Display (HMD) to create a skull-peripheral topology. We devised a lab study with 34 participants who completed seven established cognitive tasks. Then, we conducted a pilot field study with one participant to test BCIglass in everyday-life settings. Our findings demonstrate that BCIglass captures EEG activity in a manner comparable to a research-grade EEG-cap system. Our topology infers the cognitive task at hand, and the underlying cognitive process(es) by proxy, with an accuracy of ∼80% and only three electrodes at the skull periphery. Embedding EEG electrodes in lightweight HMDs represents a promising approach in the quest to achieve ubiquitous brain-computer interfacing in real-world settings.

Application of IoT audio technology based on sensor networks in English speaking teaching system

In the era of information technology, the exponential growth of data volume has compelled users to entrust their data to database service providers for efficient management. While traditional methods such as user authentication, security auditing, and access control have been implemented to safeguard data security across databases, cloud servers may face security challenges due to excessive internal administrator permissions. The audio technology of the Internet of Things (IoT) offers numerous advantages, including high bandwidth, short data transmission time, long transmission distance, and cost-effectiveness. It has found widespread applications in military, technological, industrial, and everyday life settings. With the advancements in modern information technology and the development and enhancement of wireless radio frequency technology in the IoT sector, IoT-based wireless audio interaction systems utilizing Wi-Fi have gradually become integrated into people's lives. These systems have enriched people's daily experiences and are increasingly popular among consumers. This paper, based on the theory of functional applied linguistics, combs the basic theoretical framework and the practical application prospect of functional Applied Linguistics of systemic language, especially emphasizes the important influence and application enlightenment of systemic functional linguistics on language teaching, and combines the "Recent Development Zone" The basic concepts of contemporary language and literature education, such as scaffolding, are summarized and analyzed. The paper establishes a comprehensive theoretical research framework for college spoken English teaching, and through the comprehensive theoretical analysis of communicative teaching methods and practical exploration of some problems that students may appear, it puts forward more effective and targeted specific solutions.

EKSPLORASI ETNOMATEMATIKA PADA MONUMEN KEMERDEKAAN DI ALUN-ALUN PROBOLINGGO

Mathematics is the study of interconnected forms, magnitudes, and concepts. The purpose of ethnomathematical exploratory research on the Independence Monument in Probolinggo Square is to explore and understand the relationship between culture and culture in Probolinggo society through analysis of elements in the independence monument, such as design, motifs, and symbolism related to community culture. The approach in this inquire about is subjective, with an accentuation on ethnographic strategies. Whereas the most instrument of this consider is this analyst himself. Besides, information collection in investigate utilizing perception, meet, documentation strategies. The data analysis arrange includes the method of information diminishment, information introduction, and conclusions. Based on the comes about of the examination, it appears a relationship between ethnomathematics and nearby culture. Scientific concepts are not as it were caught on individually but moreover coordinates within the setting of everyday life and social legacy of the individuals of ProbolinggoKeyword: Exploration, Ethnomathematics, Probolinggo Independence Monument

VocDoc, what happened to my voice? Towards automatically capturing vocal fatigue in the wild

Objective:Voice problems that arise during everyday vocal use can hardly be captured by standard outpatient voice assessments. In preparation for a digital health application to automatically assess longitudinal voice data ‘in the wild’ – the VocDoc, the aim of this paper was to study vocal fatigue from the speaker’s perspective, the healthcare professional’s perspective, and the ‘machine’s’ perspective. Methods:We collected data of four voice healthy speakers completing a 90-min reading task. Every 10 min the speakers were asked about subjective voice characteristics. Then, we elaborated on the task of elapsed speaking time recognition: We carried out listening experiments with speech and language therapists and employed random forests on the basis of extracted acoustic features. We validated our models speaker-dependently and speaker-independently and analysed underlying feature importances. For an additional, clinical application-oriented scenario, we extended our dataset for lecture recordings of another two speakers. Results:Self- and expert-assessments were not consistent. With mean F1 scores up to 0.78, automatic elapsed speaking time recognition worked reliably in the speaker-dependent scenario only. A small set of acoustic features – other than features previously reported to reflect vocal fatigue – was found to universally describe long-term variations of the voice. Conclusion:Vocal fatigue seems to have individual effects across different speakers. Machine learning has the potential to automatically detect and characterise vocal changes over time. Significance:Our study provides technical underpinnings for a future mobile solution to objectively capture pathological long-term voice variations in everyday life settings and make them clinically accessible.

Hearing loss, depression, and cognition in younger and older adult CI candidates.

Hearing loss in old age is associated with cognitive decline and with depression. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between hearing loss, cognitive decline, and secondary depressive symptoms in a sample of younger and older cochlear implant candidates with profound to severe hearing loss. This study is part of a larger cohort study designated to provide information on baseline data before CI. Sixty-one cochlear implant candidates with hearing loss from adulthood onwards (>18 years) were enrolled in this study. All had symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss in both ears (four-frequency hearing threshold difference of no more than 20 dB, PTA). Individuals with primary affective disorders, psychosis, below-average intelligence, poor German language skills, visual impairment, and a medical diagnosis with potential impact on cognition (e.g., neurodegenerative diseases,) were excluded. Four-frequency hearing thresholds (dB, PTA, better ear) were collected. Using the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit, we assessed subjective hearing in noise. Clinical and subclinical depressive symptoms were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI II). Cognitive status was assessed with a neurocognitive test battery. Our findings revealed a significant negative association between subjective hearing in noise (APHAB subscale "Background Noise") and BDII. However, we did not observe any link between hearing thresholds, depression, and cognition. Additionally, no differences emerged between younger (25-54 years) and older subjects (55-75 years). Unexpectedly, further unplanned analyses unveiled correlations between subjective hearing in quiet environments (APHAB) and cognitive performance [phonemic fluency (Regensburg Word Fluency), cognitive flexibility (TMTB), and nonverbal episodic memory (Nonverbal Learning Test), as well as subjective hearing of aversive/loud sounds (APHAB)], cognitive performance [semantic word fluency (RWT), and inhibition (Go/Nogo) and depression]. Duration of hearing loss and speech recognition at quiet (Freiburg Monosyllables) were not related to depression and cognitive performance. Impact of hearing loss on mood and cognition appears to be independent, suggesting a relationship with distinct aspects of hearing loss. These results underscore the importance of considering not only conventional audiometric measures like hearing thresholds but also variables related to hearing abilities during verbal communication in everyday life, both in quiet and noisy settings.

Key factors for child participation - an empowerment model for active inclusion in participatory processes.

Child participation is advocated for in many contexts related to children, such as in education and health services, but also in everyday life settings. To facilitate children's real opportunities for participation, it is proposed that children need to be adequately empowered to liberate the child's autonomous voice and activate their powers of action. This involves an understanding of children as opinion-forming and social individuals, who play an active part in social relationships. This article aims at a theoretical exploration of empowerment in the organization of ethically justifiable participation situations with children. With a semantic view of theory, an eclectic research design has been used to search for a theoretical framework based on basic human needs to be an active agent in one's own life. The purpose is to define key factors that promote the sense of empowerment as a prerequisite for being an active participant in interaction with adults. This conceptualization aims to raise clearer guidelines for the implementation of child participation and presents an empowerment model with four dimensions for the active inclusion of children in participatory processes with adults. These dimensions are information, autonomy, recognition, and alliance.

Formulation and Evaluation of Herbal Handwash Containing Extracts of Jasmine and Hibiscus Flower

Hand washing also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hands. Drying of the washed hands is part of the process as wet and moist hands are more easily recontaminated. If soap and water are unavailable, hand sanitizer that is at least 60% (v/v) alcohol in water can be used instead, unless hands are visibly excessively dirty or greasy. Hand hygiene is central to preventing the spread of infectious diseases in home and everyday life settings. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends washing hands for at least 20 seconds before and after certain activities. 1,5These include the five critical times during the day where washing hands with soap is important to reduce fecal-oral transmission of disease: after using the toilet (for urination, defecation, menstrual hygiene), after cleaning a child's (changing nappies), before feeding a child, before eating and before/after preparing food . When both hand washing and using hand sanitizer are not available, hands can be cleaned with uncontaminated ash and clean water, although the benefits and harms are uncertain for reducing the spread of viral or bacterial infections. However, frequent hand washing can lead to skin damage due to drying of the skin. Moisturizing lotion is often recommended to keep the hands from drying out.

Relational chronicities: kinship, care, and ethics of responsibility

ABSTRACT Care for chronic illness in clinical and everyday settings is relational and underpinned by ethical dilemmas about kinship care responsibilities as much as it is about self-care practices and technologically aided living. Such is the central argument of this special issue, which explores kin care and ethics of responsibilities in the everyday lives of persons and families with chronic illness across different locations globally. Rather than outlining the importance of kin care in times and spaces where clinical attention and healthcare are absent, or examining kin care as a modality of care that is separate from, contradictory, and incompatible with the clinical one, we examine how clinical modes of attention dovetail with the ethics of kin care and relational knowledge. We explore redistributions of care responsibilities between the family and the clinic by paying attention to kinship dynamics and argue that chronicity and kinship co-constitute each other in everyday life and clinical settings.

Do depressed patients really over-report cognitive impairment?

BackgroundDepressed patients report more severe cognitive impairment than is detectable by neuropsychological tests because they may underestimate their cognitive performance. Alternatively, it is possible that cognitive impairment primarily occurs under everyday life conditions as referred to in most questionnaires. The aim of the present study is to investigate the validity of self-reports in patients with major depression in order to better understand the pronounced impairment in self-reports. MethodsWe investigated 58 patients with major depression and 28 heathy control participants. We administered the “Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry” (SCIP) to assess cognitive performance, the “Questionnaire for Cognitive Complaints” (FLei), and the newly developed scale for “Self-Perception of Cognitive Performance in everyday life and test settings” to ask for the self-assessed cognitive performance in everyday life and in a test situation more specifically. ResultsDepressed patients showed an inferior test performance and reported much more general everyday life related cognitive problems compared to healthy participants. When asked more specifically for their cognitive performance in the test-situation compared to others and compared to everyday life, they did not report more test-related and everyday life related impairment than healthy participants did. LimitationsResults might be influenced by comorbidity. ConclusionsThese results have implications for the assessment of subjective cognitive performance of depressed patients and shed light on the negative effects of general versus more specific recall of autobiographical information.

Planning and Implementing Effective Language and Reading Comprehension Instructional Techniques for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Cognitive Disabilities

AbstractBoth reading and language skills are necessary for children to see success in academic and everyday life settings. This manuscript describes in detail four key instructional techniques used to target reading and language development in struggling and early readers, including children with both autism and cognitive disabilities. The techniques include (1) routines and behavioral support, (2) relatable content and interests, (3) shared reading activities to promote language and listening comprehension, and (4) academic and social vocabulary development. Drawing from examples from Friends on the Block, an intervention designed to meet the needs of children with disabilities, this paper describes key instructional techniques and methods teachers can incorporate into daily reading and language instruction for children with autism and cognitive disabilities. We also provide recommendations for implementing these techniques into instruction without the Friends on the Block intervention.

Mind Wandering in Information Technology Use: Scale Development and Cross- Validation

Because our minds frequently drift away, an investigation into mind wandering while using information technology (IT) is critical. Despite growing interest in mind-wandering episodes in various domains, the discipline of Information Systems (IS) still lacks a validated measurement instrument that can account for the technology-related facets of the phenomenon. Our work addresses this gap and presents the results of a comprehensively developed scale that is specifically designed for IS scenarios. Using existing literature and the results of a pilot study (N = 35), a field study (N = 364), and a cross-validation sample (N = 336), we developed a new instrument that allows mind wandering while using technology to be measured either as a state (MWS) or as a trait with two subtypes (MWT-D: deliberate, and MWT-S: spontaneous). Whereas MWS captures a momentary mental state or a sequence of mental states that arise relatively freely while using technology in a given moment, MWT-D and MWT-S capture either intentional or unintentional, internally focused thoughts in technology-related settings in everyday life. Our scale is well suited to support future research to investigate the effects of mind wandering in technology-related settings and to study its implications for IS-relevant dependent variables, such as task performance and creativity.

Developing better understanding of hygiene is key to developing hygiene behaviour change in home and everyday life settings

Polling indicates the public has fairly good knowledge of times when hygiene is needed in their homes and everyday life in public spaces, but limited understanding of hygiene risk; this results in omitting some key behaviours and incorrectly applying untargeted behaviours. This poll explores how the public responded to government advice, and information from other sources, to address a specific disease threat - that is, COVID-19 infection. An online poll was developed, and data were collected from 1730 respondents in England aged 18 and above. Data suggest that the UK public has a high level of concern about the importance of hygiene to prevent spread of COVID-19. They had good recall of advice given during the pandemic and were able to identify routes of infection transmission. When asked to identify key times for handwashing, most people (86%-90%) identified 'after coughing, sneezing etc., before eating food with fingers, after touching contact surfaces and when returning home', but a similar number also identified using the toilet, food handling and pet handling, despite the fact that government advice does not identify these as risk actions for COVID-19. This suggests they were unable to use their knowledge of how the virus spreads to make informed decisions about when to practice hygiene. Despite government guidance, public practices are still influenced by a conviction that deep cleaning, including non-targeted disinfectant usage on environmental surfaces, gives added protection, leading them to practise additional cleaning and disinfection in situations where there is little benefit. New insights from public polling, together with the nine moments Targeted Hygiene approach, offer a more robust communications approach to enable the public to make cognitive links between when, where, how and why to practise good hygiene, and in doing so, promote more effective and sustainable behaviours.

The Elusive Everyday in the Fiction of Marilynne Robinson by Laura E. Tanner

Reviewed by: The Elusive Everyday in the Fiction of Marilynne Robinson by Laura E. Tanner Ryan Kemp THE ELUSIVE EVERYDAY IN THE FICTION OF MARILYNNE ROBINSON, by Laura E. Tanner. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021. 208 pp. $80.00 hardback. Laura E. Tanner’s The Elusive Everyday in the Fiction of Marilynne Robinson argues that Robinson’s fiction has been underestimated. In critics easy praise of Robinson’s lyrical mastery—her ability to glorify the simple rhythms and textures of everyday experience—they have missed a more complex and insistent commitment to characters who are themselves hopelessly estranged from ordinary life. Where readers have tended to emphasize her novels’ unproblematic trajectories from loss to reconciliation, Tanner calls for a reversal. She observes that “[too] many critics have [End Page 172] [. . .] ignored the way in which loss registers in Robinson’s fiction in the form of a mundane terror that manifests in the disrupted rhythms and disabled experiences of the everyday” (p. 4). This is the core claim of Tanner’s book: in Robinson’s fictional world of Gilead, everyday life is not, in the first place, luminous or sacramental but painfully elusive. Tanner’s discussion of the “everyday” is developed alongside recent work in everyday studies, where the concept is generally understood as life’s “taken-for-granted backdrop” (p. 13). But if this is the right way to think of it, then many of the central characters in Robinson’s fiction stand out as possessing nothing so stable. According to Tanner, the principal actors of Robinson’s novels (Ruth, John Ames, Glory, Lila, Jack) are hyperaware of the stage setting of everyday life precisely as stage setting. Each has experienced a traumatic displacement (abandonment, impending death, loneliness, abuse, addiction) that thrusts the background into the foreground, causing aspects of life that typically go unobserved to receive special emphasis and attention. In some cases, as with Ruth and Ames, Tanner argues, it is this special notice that gives rise to the lyrical reflections that tempt readers to see harmony where there is, in fact, considerable tension. The second main contention of Tanner’s study, then, is that Robinson’s fiction prompts us to expand our notion of everydayness to include people for whom, paradoxically, the “taken-for-granted backdrop” (the “everyday”) involves taking nothing for granted (what we might call, “everydaylessness”). Tanner calls this limbo-state the “uncomfortable ordinary” (p. 8). Tanner’s approach is largely forensic (drawing liberally from the work of neuroscience, psychology, and trauma studies), as she carefully extends her diagnosis to each of Robinson’s five novels: in Gilead (2004), how the experience of dying isolates an elderly man “in the collapsing space between perception and representation” (p. 68); in Home (2008), how certain “scripted performances of the ordinary” conspire to trap a woman “within her role as keeper of a symbolic home” (p. 26); in Lila (2014), how a woman’s “trauma-induced anxiety” is ramified in the novel’s fractured repetitions (p. 26); and in Jack (2020), how someone with a hyperactive “aesthetic sensibility immobilizes and isolates him[self] in an imaginative landscape” (p. 27). Tanner’s emphasis on traumatic displacement is perhaps most at home in Robinson’s first novel, Housekeeping (1980). Against early critics who read the novel as a work of feminist liberation, Tanner argues that Ruth’s rejection of the domestic sphere is not an act of inspired self-assertion as much as an elaborate coping mechanism. Ruth’s gorgeous flights of fancy are the means by which she avoids engagement with life. For all their beauty, they are at root an expression of a relentless fear that she is going to be abandoned again. Tanner claims this imminent anxiety both pushes Ruth to cut ties with the world and makes possible the detached attention [End Page 173] that lends her aesthetic reveries such force. This force, however, serves less as a genuine consolation for Ruth’s woes than a kind of sickly manifestation of them. Ordinary life has not been resurrected but embalmed. Tanner’s thesis confronts the reader with the need to discriminate between two importantly distinct cases: on the one hand, instances in which characters merely cope...

The effect of mindfulness meditation on working memory: An observational study in MBBS students of RVM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Siddipet, Telangana

Background: Meditation is a practice that has been shown to improve calmness, enhance attention, and produce a focused mind. Mindfulness is the quality of being fully engaged with whatever we are doing, being free from distraction. Students nowadays are stressed due to increasing competition relating to their academic performance and career building which, in turn, affects their performance and mental health. Most studies which show that mindfulness meditation improves focus, attention, or memory were done under supervision in serene environment away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. Our study aimed to see whether some benefit of such practice could also be attained in our everyday life settings when done for a short time and without much training or supervision. Aims and Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of short-term mindfulness meditation on working memory in MBBS students using visual memory test and compare with a control group. Materials and Methods: Total 50 students were taken and divided into two groups-test and control. A baseline measurement of their working memory by visual memory test was done. A similar test was repeated after 8 weeks of regular mindfulness meditation exercise in the test group while the control group continued with their previous routine. The results were compared with their previous performance as well as with the control group using student t-test. Results: The recorded changes were analyzed for statistical significance. The results showed statistically significant improvement in the score of test group (P &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: Our study showed that a period of 8 weeks of mindfulness meditation was helpful in improving working memory. By practicing mindfulness meditation, we train our mind to concentrate on the present moment, leaving aside our problems, worries, and stresses. This regular practice may improve brain network training which results in improvement in working memory.

Creating Food Learning Opportunities for Adults Within Urban Settings: A Framework for Food Pedagogies.

Globally, food is acknowledged as a primary focus for addressing challenges facing cities. City councils create and support food-related policies or strategies to enhance healthy and sustainable environments, and multiple food practitioners engage closely with these initiatives. However, the visibility of educational aspects of food within governments, policy development, public spaces, or across society is limited. There is a lack of evidence about how pedagogical frameworks can inform these initiatives. This study aims to develop a draft food pedagogies framework, whose application can inform food initiatives beyond the classroom to increase adults' awareness of, engagement with and empowered action relating to food, with the goal to advance societal health and sustainability. A qualitative approach included semi-structured interviews with 39 experienced food leaders from diverse food-related fields in Australia. Using thematic analysis, five key themes to assist adults learn about food in everyday life settings were identified: (1) Making use of (in)formal pedagogical spaces in communities; (2) Encouraging interactions with a range of people related to food; (3) Creating enjoyable and practical experiences as part of daily lives; (4) Developing supportive and transparent systems that reflect communities' needs; and (5) Utilizing broader social issues. A proposed framework, based on the five themes and existing theoretical frameworks, can be used to inform policy makers and diverse food practitioners to develop urban food strategies that aim to create food-centred changes within urban settings toward societal health and sustainability.

What makes domain knowledge difficult? Word usage frequency from SUBTLEX and dlexDB explains knowledge item difficulty

The quality of tests in psychological and educational assessment is of great scholarly and public interest. Item difficulty models are vital to generating test result interpretations based on evidence. A major determining factor of item difficulty in knowledge tests is the opportunity to learn about the facts and concepts in question. Knowledge is mainly conveyed through language. Exposure to language associated with facts and concepts might be an indicator of the opportunity to learn. Thus, we hypothesize that item difficulty in knowledge tests should be related to the probability of exposure to the item content in everyday life and/or academic settings and therefore also to word frequency. Results from a study with 99 political knowledge test items administered to N = 250 German seventh (age: 11–14 years) and tenth (age: 15–18 years) graders showed that word frequencies in everyday settings (SUBTLEX-DE) explain variance in item difficulty, while word frequencies in academic settings (dlexDB) alone do not. However, both types of word frequency combined explain a considerable amount of the variance in item difficulty. Items with words that are more frequent in both settings and, in particular, relatively frequent in everyday settings are easier. High word frequencies and relatively higher word frequency in everyday settings could be associated with higher probability of exposure, conceptual complexity, and better readability of item content. Examining word frequency from different language settings can help researchers investigate test score interpretations and is a useful tool for predicting item difficulty and refining knowledge test items.

Task-unrelated thought increases after consumption of COVID-19 and general news

Task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) are frequent distractions from our everyday tasks, which can reduce productivity and safety during task performance. This necessitates the examination of factors that modulate TUT occurrence in daily life. One factor that has previously been implicated as a source of TUT is personally salient concerns. External factors such as news media serve as cues for these concerns, potentially increasing TUT occurrence. However, this has not been thoroughly examined in everyday life settings. We thus utilized Ecological Momentary Assessment to survey participants throughout the day for ten days, on their TUTs and news consumption in two separate studies. Study 1 focused on the impact of news related to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, as a common and global concern. We found that TUT occurrence was significantly predicted by COVID-19 news consumption, such that TUT occurrence increased with COVID-19 news consumption. To extend these findings, we implemented Study 2 using similar methods, but focusing on the consumption of news media in general. TUT occurrence was predicted by general news consumption, with an increase in reports of TUT following consumption of news media in general. We thus extended the association found between TUT and COVID-19-related news in Study 1, to any news topic in Study 2. We speculate that the increase in TUTs was due to heightened salience of current concerns, cued by the news. These findings highlight the importance of considering when we choose to consume news media and the value of examining contextual factors when studying TUTs in daily life.

Editing reality in the brain.

Recent information technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) allow the creation of simulated sensory worlds with which we can interact. Using programming language, digital details can be overlaid onto displays of our environment, confounding what is real and what has been artificially engineered. Natural language, particularly the use of direct verbal suggestion (DVS) in everyday and hypnotic contexts, can also manipulate the meaning and significance of objects and events in ourselves and others. In this review, we focus on how socially rewarding language can construct and influence reality. Language is symbolic, automatic and flexible and can be used to augment bodily sensations e.g. feelings of heaviness in a limb or suggest a colour that is not there. We introduce the term ‘suggested reality’ (SR) to refer to the important role that language, specifically DVS, plays in constructing, maintaining and manipulating our shared reality. We also propose the term edited reality to encompass the wider influence of information technology and linguistic techniques that results in altered subjective experience and review its use in clinical settings, while acknowledging its limitations. We develop a cognitive model indicating how the brain’s central executive structures use our personal and linguistic-based narrative in subjective awareness, arguing for a central role for language in DVS. A better understanding of the characteristics of VR, AR and SR and their applications in everyday life, research and clinical settings can help us to better understand our own reality and how it can be edited.

Trends in Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability During Pregnancy and the 3-Month Postpartum Period: Continuous Monitoring in a Free-living Context.

BackgroundHeart rate variability (HRV) is a noninvasive method that reflects the regulation of the autonomic nervous system. Altered HRV is associated with adverse mental or physical health complications. The autonomic nervous system also has a central role in physiological adaption during pregnancy, causing normal changes in HRV.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess trends in heart rate (HR) and HRV parameters as a noninvasive method for remote maternal health monitoring during pregnancy and 3-month postpartum period.MethodsA total of 58 pregnant women were monitored using an Internet of Things–based remote monitoring system during pregnancy and 3-month postpartum period. Pregnant women were asked to continuously wear Gear Sport smartwatch to monitor their HR and HRV extracted from photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals. In addition, a cross-platform mobile app was used to collect background and delivery-related information. We analyzed PPG signals collected during the night and discarded unreliable signals by applying a PPG quality assessment method to the collected signals. HR, HRV, and normalized HRV parameters were extracted from reliable signals. The normalization removed the effect of HR changes on HRV trends. Finally, we used hierarchical linear mixed models to analyze the trends of HR, HRV, and normalized HRV parameters.ResultsHR increased significantly during the second trimester (P<.001) and decreased significantly during the third trimester (P=.006). Time-domain HRV parameters, average normal interbeat intervals (IBIs; average normal IBIs [AVNN]), SD of normal IBIs (SDNN), root mean square of the successive difference of normal IBIs (RMSSD), normalized SDNN, and normalized RMSSD decreased significantly during the second trimester (P<.001). Then, AVNN, SDNN, RMSSD, and normalized SDNN increased significantly during the third trimester (with P=.002, P<.001, P<.001, and P<.001, respectively). Some of the frequency-domain parameters, low-frequency power (LF), high-frequency power (HF), and normalized HF, decreased significantly during the second trimester (with P<.001, P<.001, and P=.003, respectively), and HF increased significantly during the third trimester (P=.007). In the postpartum period, normalized RMSSD decreased (P=.01), and the LF to HF ratio (LF/HF) increased significantly (P=.004).ConclusionsOur study indicates the physiological changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period. We showed that HR increased and HRV parameters decreased as pregnancy proceeded, and the values returned to normal after delivery. Moreover, our results show that HR started to decrease, whereas time-domain HRV parameters and HF started to increase during the third trimester. The results also indicated that age was significantly associated with HRV parameters during pregnancy and postpartum period, whereas education level was associated with HRV parameters during the third trimester. In addition, our results demonstrate the possibility of continuous HRV monitoring in everyday life settings.