As the essence of livestream e-commerce is social commerce, building a livestream brand community and attracting brand followers are the key aspects to achieving sustained revenue. For many companies, inviting celebrities has become a shortcut to attract new followers. Considering the unsustainability and high cost of the celebrity host mode, some companies switched to using their own branded broadcasters to attract followers. However, as branded broadcasters lack a fan base, choosing the suitable broadcaster type has become a challenge in livestream (...) e-commerce. The motivation of consumers to follow brand livestream accounts is mainly to obtain potential value by embedding them in social networks. Therefore, based on motive theory, this research explores how different broadcaster types affect consumer’s intention to follow a livestream brand community. Results from the analysis of secondary data from livestream platforms and two laboratory experiments reveal that celebrities contribute more to consumer’s intention to follow than branded broadcasters, and utilitarian products can strengthen the effect of branded broadcasters on attracting potential followers. Moreover, branded broadcasters can promote consumer’s intention to follow a livestream brand community by satisfying consumer’s need for informational value during utilitarian product evaluation. This research analyzes the differential effects of different types of broadcasters on livestream brand community building. The findings can deepen the understanding of the consumer’s behavior of following brand livestream communities and provide companies with suggestions on broadcaster selection in livestream e-commerce. (shrink)

Reorienting the Political examines the reception of two controversial German philosophers, Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss, in the Chinese-speaking world. This volume explores the powerful resonance of both thinkers in Chinese political thought from a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspective.

This research explores the intervention effect of the mindfulness acceptance insight commitment (MAIC) training program on the mindfulness level, flow state, and mental health of college swimmers. A sample of 47 college swimmers from a regular university was recruited and randomly divided into two groups before the intervention. Independent variables between groups are psychological training mode (MAIC training/no training), and the independent variable within group was time (pre-test, post-test, and continuity test). The dependent variables are mindfulness level, flow state, and (...) mental health (anxiety, depression, training, and competition satisfaction). Results show that after the intervention of MAIC training, the mindfulness level of athletes’ flow state has been significantly improved, whereas anxiety and depression significantly decreased. In addition, the satisfaction with training and competition significantly improved. In the continuous stage after the intervention, the mindfulness level, flow state, and mental health of athletes are still significantly higher than those in the pre-test. The comparison of the post-test and continuity test show no significant differences in the mindfulness level, flow state, depression, and training and competition satisfaction of athletes. Still, the anxiety level shows an upward trend with a significant difference. This study demonstrates that the MAIC mindfulness training program can significantly improve the mindfulness level, flow state, anxiety, depression, and training and competition satisfaction of college swimmers with a good continuity effect. Thus, the athletes’ sports experience can be improved, and good psychological benefits can be attained. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the potential of “equitech”—AI technology that improves equity. Recently, interventions have been developed to reduce the harm of implicit bias, the automatic form of stereotype or prejudice that contributes to injustice. However, these interventions—some of which are assisted by AI-related technology—have significant limitations, including unintended negative consequences and general inefficacy. To overcome these limitations, we propose a two-dimensional framework to assess current AI-assisted interventions and explore promising new ones. We begin by using the case of human (...) resource recruitment as a focal point to show that existing approaches have exploited only a subset of the available solution space. We then demonstrate how our framework facilitates the discovery of new approaches. The first dimension of this framework helps us systematically consider the analytic information, intervention implementation, and modes of human-machine interaction made available by advancements in AI-related technology. The second dimension enables the identification and incorporation of insights from recent research on implicit bias intervention. We argue that a design strategy that combines complementary interventions can further enhance the effectiveness of interventions by targeting the various interacting cognitive systems that underlie implicit bias. We end with a discussion of how our cognitive interventions framework can have positive downstream effects for structural problems. (shrink)

BackgroundSolution-focused model is an intervention method that fully mobilizes patients’ initiative through their potential. We aimed to investigate the effects of SFM on anxiety and postpartum depression in nulliparous pregnant women compared with routine care services.MethodsWe chose the mothers diagnosed as depressed or with depressive tendency by Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale at 28 weeks of gestation and divided them into the intervention and control groups. The control group only took the routine pregnancy healthy nursing, while the SFM group took the (...) regular nursing and SFM counselling. Different assessments were conducted at 28 weeks of gestation, post-delivery, and post-intervention to evaluate the anxiety and depression levels of the patients. Finally, nursing satisfaction was evaluated by the nursing satisfaction questionnaire.ResultsCompared with the control group, SFM could decrease the scores of anxiety and depression more effectively and influence sleep quality more positively. We also found that SFM resulted in significantly higher nursing satisfaction than that in the control group.ConclusionIn conclusion, SFM could effectively alleviate anxiety and PPD in nulliparous pregnant women. (shrink)

While substantial progress has been made in the field known as artificial consciousness, at the present time there is no generally accepted phenomenally conscious machine, nor even a clear route to how one might be produced should we decide to try. Here, we take the position that, from our computer science perspective, a major reason for this is a computational explanatory gap: our inability to understand/explain the implementation of high-level cognitive algorithms in terms of neurocomputational processing. We explain how addressing (...) the computational explanatory gap can identify computational correlates of consciousness. We suggest that bridging this gap is not only critical to further progress in the area of machine consciousness, but would also inform the search for neurobiological correlates of consciousness and would, with high probability, contribute to demystifying the “hard problem” of understanding the mind–brain relationship. We compile a listing of previously proposed computational correlates of consciousness and, based on the results of recent computational modeling, suggest that the gating mechanisms associated with top-down cognitive control of working memory should be added to this list. We conclude that developing neurocognitive architectures that contribute to bridging the computational explanatory gap provides a credible and achievable roadmap to understanding the ultimate prospects for a conscious machine, and to a better understanding of the mind–brain problem in general. (shrink)

In Heidegger's thinking, a language is neither words nor expressions. The discussion of a language brings not the language itself but rather us into its essence, and makes us gather unto "the genesis of the very language itself." With snows and vesper bells, Heidegger summoned both heaven and earth and gods and men, making them merge into a single world. Likewise, Zhuangzi used the words of Qixie to summon the fleeting clouds in an endless sky and a dusky earth populated (...) by living beings and dust. /// 在海德格尔看来，语言既不是词语，也不是表达。探讨语言不是把语言而是 把我们带到语言本质的处所，让我们聚集到 "成其自身" 之中。海德格尔通过雪花 和晚祷的钟声把天地神人召唤来，使其融契为一体的世界。在庄子 "齐谐" 词语的 召唤下，游气、尘埃、生物、苍茫之天以及昏黄的大地得以显现。. (shrink)

Ritualistic consumption refers to integrating ritual elements into the process of product design and usage. By conducting three studies, we find that ritualistic consumption can offer new and interesting experiences and help consumers gain a sense of control. Both positive and negative emotions can promote ritualistic consumption tendencies. However, their underlying psychological mechanisms are different. Specifically, positive emotion can arouse consumers’ desire for interesting experience and thus promotes their preference for ritualistic consumption, while negative emotion can arouse consumers’ need for (...) control and thus promote their preference for ritualistic consumption. Our research results offer a theoretical contribution and practical inspiration for emotional marketing. (shrink)

We draw from ego depletion and leader–member exchange theories to provide nuanced insight into why abusive supervision is indirectly associated with supervisor-directed destructive voice. A multi-wave, multi-source field study demonstrates evidence that abusive supervision has a positive conditional indirect effect on supervisor-directed destructive voice through subordinates’ relational ego depletion with their supervisors that is stronger for higher LMX differentiation contexts than lower LMX differentiation contexts. We make novel theoretical, empirical, and practical contributions by providing a parsimonious explanation for why relational (...) aspects of supervisory treatment drain subordinates’ capacities for controlling their volitional actions during interactions with their supervisors and how this relationship impacts subordinates’ supervisor-directed destructive voice. Overall, our study extends the application of ego depletion and LMX theories to the examination of abusive supervision and destructive voice in order to meaningfully inform researchers’ attempts to build cohesive streams of research in these areas and practitioners’ attempts to promote ethical workplace environments. (shrink)

In this article, we introduce the theory of archetype, which explains the connection between ancient myths and the human mind. Based on the assumption that archetypes are in the deepest level of human mind, we propose that archetypal symbolism is a kind of knowledge that supports the cognitive process for creating subjective world-view towards the physical world we live in. According to archetypal symbolism, we conducted an empirical study to identify archetypal symbols in modern movies. A new collection of movie (...) clips was developed to represent eight essential archetypes: anima, animus, mentor, mother, shadow, hero’s departure, hero’s initiation and hero’s return, which can be used in future studies on human emotion. In order to investigate the emotions towards these archetypal symbols, we provide suggestions from the psychological point of view. The present study demonstrates how to identify symbolic meanings in movies, and indicates a new direction for future studies in psychology. (shrink)

ObjectivesIn this study, the effect of WeChat use on the subjective health of older adults was examined.MethodsUsing 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study survey data, we attempted to rule out potential endogeneity bias by employing instrumental variable regression to estimate the effects of WeChat use on the health of older individuals. Mobile phone price was chosen as the instrumental variable, and the health of older adults was measured from two aspects: self-rated health and the Center for Epidemiological Studies of (...) Depression Scale.ResultsWeChat use has a significant positive impact on the subjective health of older adults and can significantly improve their self-rated health and mental health status. WeChat use has significant positive effects on the subjective health of both older men and women, but relatively younger older adults obtain more health benefits from WeChat use.ConclusionThe virtual social participation prompted by WeChat use affects the health of older adults. This finding provides a reference for promoting the active integration of older adults into digital life. (shrink)

With the rapid development of computer science and information technology, artificial intelligence has been developed from theory to application. As a key technology in the modern society, AI is increasingly affecting all aspects of people’s daily lives, including sports training. AI can be considered as an assistive technology to provide specific support to athletes’ physical education training through various means such as data analysis and simulation of training scenarios. Although research on AI is still in the preliminary stage, it is (...) significant to explore how AI can be applied in sports training since this emerging technology could facilitate people’s physical training to some extent. This paper first reviews the existing research on AI applications. Then, based on the fundamental concept and related research results of AI, this study explores three specific cases of AI application in sports training and explains the main principles. This research focuses on discussing the strong relationship between AI technology and physical education training and highlights the advantages of AI, including utilization, convenience, and innovation. (shrink)

Before expressing opinions, most people usually consider the standpoint of their friends nearby to avoid being isolated, which may lead to the herding effect. The words of celebrities in social networks usually attract public attention and affect the opinion evolution in the entire network. This process also causes the similar status quo. In this study, we find that the key figures play the guiding roles in public opinions who undertake the group pressure from information amount. Therefore, we build the cost (...) function on opinion changes to study opinion evolution rules for public persons based on the spreading scope of information and information amount. Simulation analysis reveals that the information amount held by agents will affect the converging speed of public opinions, while enhancing the ability of key nodes may no more effective in guiding public opinion. (shrink)

With the development of industrialization and urbanization, cities have become the main carriers of economic activities. However, the long-term development of cities has also caused damage to resources and the environment. Hence, objective and scientific evaluation of urban low-carbon sustainable development capacity is very important. An index system of urban low-carbon sustainable development capability is constructed in this paper, and a TOPSIS-BP neural network model is established to evaluate the low-carbon sustainable development capability of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou in (...) China. At the same time, the difference degree of low-carbon sustainable development level in these four cities is analyzed by standard deviation and coefficient of variation, and the influencing factors of urban low-carbon sustainable development ability are extracted by grey correlation analysis. The results show that the capability of low-carbon sustainable development in four cities is rising and the difference of low-carbon sustainable development capability is decreasing; the general view that the higher the general investment in low-carbon sustainable development, the higher the level of low-carbon sustainable development in cities has not been verified; with the change of time series, the factors affecting the capability of low-carbon sustainable development in the same city are different and the influence of the same factor on the capability of low-carbon sustainable development in different cities is different. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are increasingly adopted to make decisions in domains such as business, education, health care, and criminal justice. However, such algorithmic decision systems can have prevalent biases against marginalized social groups and undermine social justice. Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is a recent development aiming to make an AI system’s decision processes less opaque and to expose its problematic biases. This paper argues against technical XAI, according to which the detection and interpretation of algorithmic bias can be handled (...) more or less independently by technical experts who specialize in XAI methods. Drawing on resources from feminist epistemology, we show why technical XAI is mistaken. Specifically, we demonstrate that the proper detection of algorithmic bias requires relevant interpretive resources, which can only be made available, in practice, by actively involving a diverse group of stakeholders. Finally, we suggest how feminist theories can help shape integrated XAI: an inclusive social-epistemic process that facilitates the amelioration of algorithmic bias. (shrink)

Purpose: This study used a moderated mediation model to test the mediating effect of general self-efficacy on the relationship between post-traumatic growth and creativity and the moderating effect of deliberate rumination in the second path of the indirect mediation path during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A sample of 881 university students from Guangdong Province, China, was surveyed with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Deliberate Rumination Inventory. SPSS and PROCESS were used for (...) correlation analyses, mediation analysis, and moderated mediation analysis.Results: PTG was positively correlated with creativity, self-efficacy, and deliberate rumination. Creativity was positively correlated with self-efficacy and deliberate rumination. Deliberate rumination was positively correlated with self-efficacy. Self-efficacy mediated the relationship between PTG and creativity. Deliberate rumination moderated the second half of the path of “PTG → self-efficacy → creativity.”Conclusions: PTG affected creativity directly and also indirectly through self-efficacy. In particular, deliberate rumination moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and creativity, such that the association was stronger when the incidence of deliberate rumination was low. These results provide a more comprehensive understanding of the positive link between PTG and creativity. (shrink)

Using Chinese listed companies as research setting, this paper constructs a measure of corporate competing culture through textual analysis on firms’ management discussion and analysis disclosures, and examines the impact of corporate competing culture on environmental investment. The results show that competing culture has a significant and positive impact on firms’ environmental investment, and the results remain robust to a battery of robustness tests. Moreover, the mediating analysis indicates that competing culture promotes corporate environmental investment through enhancing firms’ internal control (...) quality. Furthermore, the heterogeneity results show that the positive impact of corporate competing culture on environmental investment is more pronounced in firms with larger size, stronger corporate governance, in high-polluting industry, and located in less developed regions. Our findings shed light on the importance of corporate competing culture and provide practical implications for corporate sustainable development. (shrink)

We proposed a model to examine the relationship among different types of weight-related stigmas and their relationship to quality of life. We recruited 430 dyads of elementary school children [mean age = 10.07 years; nboy = 241 ; noverweight = 138 ] and their parents. Parents completed QoL instruments about their children assessing generic QoL and weight-related QoL. Children completed QoL instruments assessing generic QoL and weight-related QoL and stigma scales assessing experienced weight stigma, weight-related self-stigma, and perceived weight stigma. (...) Experienced weight stigma was significantly associated with perceived weight stigma, and in turn, perceived weight stigma was significantly associated with weight-related self-stigma. However, experienced weight stigma was not directly associated with weight-related self-stigma. In addition, experienced stigma was negatively associated with both child-rated and parent-rated QoL. Perceived weight stigma was associated only with parent-rated weight-related QoL but not child-rated QoL. Self-stigma was associated with child-rated QoL but not parent-rated QoL. Moreover, perceived weight stigma and weight-related self-stigma were significant mediators in the association between body weight and children's QoL; experienced weight stigma was not a significant mediator. The study findings can be used to inform healthcare providers about the relationship among different types of stigmas and their influence on child-rated and parent-rated QoL and help them develop interventions to address the global trend of overweight/obesity in youth and pediatric populations. (shrink)

In this study, we examined the effects of parental phubbing on learning burnout in elementary and secondary school students and its mechanism of action. A questionnaire method was applied to investigate parental phubbing, parent–child attachment, ego depletion, and learning burnout among 2090 elementary and secondary school students in Anhui Province, China. The results are as follows: Parental phubbing was significantly correlated with parent–child attachment, ego depletion, and learning burnout; Parental phubbing has an indirect impact on learning burnout in elementary and (...) secondary school students through three pathways: a separate mediating effect on parent–child attachment, a separate mediating effect on ego depletion, and a chain mediating effect on both. Parental phubbing is a risk factor for Learning Burnout, which can positively affect Learning Burnout in elementary and secondary school students. The findings of the study contribute to revealing the influence mechanism of parental phubbing on learning burnout in elementary and secondary school students. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo explore the relations among perceived stress, fatigue, sleepiness, and the pathway of their effects on the ambulatory arterial stiffness index among medical staff.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Wuhan, China. Perceived stress, fatigue, and sleepiness were measured using the perceived stress scale, Fatigue assessment scale, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, respectively. AASI was obtained from 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Path analysis was used to clarify the relations among the PSS, FAS, and ESS scores, and their (...) relations to AASI values.ResultsA total of 153 participants were included herein. The PSS and FAS correlated with the ESS, and the PSS correlated with the FAS. In addition, the ESS correlated with the AASI. According to the path analysis results, the PSS and FAS had no direct effect on the AASI, but did have an indirect effect on this index by influencing the ESS.ConclusionSleepiness was a mediator of the effects of perceived stress and fatigue on AASI. (shrink)

The fault prediction and abductive fault diagnosis of three-phase induction motors are of great importance for improving their working safety, reliability, and economy; however, it is difficult to succeed in solving these issues. This paper proposes a fault analysis method of motors based on modified fuzzy reasoning spiking neural P systems with real numbers for fault prediction and abductive fault diagnosis. To achieve this goal, fault fuzzy production rules of three-phase induction motors are first proposed. Then, the rMFRSNPS is presented (...) to model the rules, which provides an intuitive way for modelling the motors. Moreover, to realize the parallel data computing and information reasoning in the fault prediction and diagnosis process, three reasoning algorithms for the rMFRSNPS are proposed: the pulse value reasoning algorithm, the forward fault prediction reasoning algorithm, and the backward abductive fault diagnosis reasoning algorithm. Finally, some case studies are given, in order to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. (shrink)

Incivility among employees in frontline encounters is prevalent, but little is known about its impact on customers’ ethics-related perceptions and behaviors. Drawing upon the stimulus–organism–response paradigm, this study examines how witnessing incivility among employees can serve as a social atmospheric cue to influence customers’ perceived ethicality of an organization and their subsequent behaviors. According to our results, in response to employee-to-employee incivility witnessed during frontline encounters, customers perceive the uncivil employees’ organization to have a lower level of ethicality. In turn, (...) customers engage more in unethical behavior and less in customer citizenship behavior. We further demonstrate that the negative effect of uncivil employee-to-employee interactions on customers’ perception of the ethicality of an organization is amplified when customers have an a priori perception that the organization is competent. The findings hold theoretical and practical implications for the management of employee-to-employee incivility and unethical customer behavior during frontline encounters. (shrink)

Remanufacturing widely exists in production activities. Two different game models are involved while considering reverse channels: In Model P, the manufacturer provides new and remanufactured products to two retailers. New products are sold through an online platform, while remanufactured products are sold in offline physical stores in a decentralized scenario. In Model C, the manufacturer provides new and remanufactured units to only one retailer that operates both online and offline channels in a centralized scenario. This research showed that a manufacturer’s (...) profitability and industry profits in Model P were higher than those in Model C from the perspective of economic performance; the sum of the profits of both retailers in Model P was worse than the profits of the retailer in Model C. Moreover, Model P was found to be greener than Model C from the perspective of environmental sustainability. From a social viewpoint, Model P had a higher consumer surplus than Model C; the higher the cost of distributing a remanufactured unit, the more disadvantageous the model to the consumers. (shrink)

As heritage is the precious treasure of human society, heritage also carries the genes of culture. It is of vital importance to effectively develop heritage tourism resources and explore the mechanisms that influence tourists’ cultural identity. This study has integrated the stimulus-organism-response framework with the attitude-behavior-context theory to construct a hypothetical model of heritage tourism aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity so as to figure out their relationships. The questionnaires were collected to investigate the impact paths and mechanisms (...) between heritage aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity. The structural equation model was used to examine the relationship between heritage tourism aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity. The main findings include: the positive impact of aesthetics driving mental experience and cultural identity is significant; the impact of tourist involvement on mental experience and cultural identity is also significant; the impact of aesthetics on cultural identity is not significant, but mental experience mediates the relationship between aesthetics and cultural identity in heritage tourism. This study provides a new research framework and perspective for the aesthetics, tourist involvement, mental experience, and cultural identity of tourists in heritage tourism. This study also provides practical implications for government culture sectors to propagandize culture and for heritage destination managers to better manage heritage sites. (shrink)

The concept of work engagement has aroused the interest of many scholars. However, there has been limited academic research in examining how authentic leadership can influence WE, which consequently influences organizational citizenship behavior and task performance. In particular, this study divides WE into cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement to fully reflect the engagement theory. This study introduces three dimensions of WE and tests the theoretical model to validate cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement. Empirical testing using a (...) survey of 151 employees of retail travel agencies in Taiwan revealed that the AL can influence cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and physical engagement, and also OCB and TP. These analysis results can assist vendors to implement OCB and TP through WE and AL. (shrink)

Liver transplantation (LT) activities during the COVID-19 pandemic have been curtailed in many countries. The impact of various policies restricting LT on outcomes of potential LT candidates is unclear. We studied all patients on the nationwide LT waitlists in Hong Kong and Singapore between January 2016 and May 2020. We used continuous time Markov chains to model the effects of different scenarios and varying durations of disruption on LT candidates.

This study attempts to investigate the relationships among the ethical beliefs of Chinese consumers and orientations based on attitudinal attributes: materialism and moral philosophies (idealism and relativism). In addition, this study examines Chinese consumers' ethical beliefs in relation to five selected demographic characteristics (gender, age, religion, family income and education). Based on this exploratory study of 284 Chinese consumers, the following statistically significant findings were discovered. First, Chinese consumers regard that a passively benefiting activity is more ethical, but actively benefiting (...) from an illegal or a questionable activity is unacceptable. Second, the two dimensions of passively benefiting and no harm/no foul can be used to distinguish the consumers who endorse higher levels of idealism or relativism. Third, Chinese consumers with a high level of materialism are more likely to actively benefit from illegal and questionable activities, and the passively benefiting actions. Finally, the more ethical Chinese consumers seem to be younger, be religious, and have a lower family income. (shrink)

Background The urgency of ensuring adequate moral courage in clinical nursing practice is evident. However, currently, there are few formal intervention plans targeted at enhancing the moral courage of nurses. Aim To develop a training program for improving the moral courage of nurses using the modified Delphi method. Research design A modified Delphi study. Participants and research context From November to December 2022, a literature review and expert group discussion were conducted to develop a preliminary training plan framework. From January (...) to March 2023, a two-round Delphi survey was performed, and a consensus was reached regarding the plan through online questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Ethical considerations This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee (No. 138, 30 August 2021). All participants provided written informed consent. Results Consensus was reached on eight themes and 33 items to strengthen the moral courage training program for nurses. Conclusions Guided by a unified goal of moral education, a multi-level and acceptable intervention plan was designed to enhance the moral courage of nurses. (shrink)

We report that upon excitation by a single pulse, a classical harmonic oscillator immersed in the classical electromagnetic zero-point radiation exhibits a discrete harmonic spectrum in agreement with that of its quantum counterpart. This result is interesting in view of the fact that the vacuum field is needed in the classical calculation to obtain the agreement.

BackgroundTinnitus is a common disease, and sound therapy is an effective method to alleviate it. Previous studies have shown that notched sound not only changes levels of cortical blood oxygen, but affects blood oxygen in specific cerebral cortical areas, such as Brodmann area 46, which is associated with emotion. Extensive evidence has confirmed that tinnitus is closely related to emotion. Whether notched sound plays a role in regulating the emotional center is still unclear.MethodsThis study included 29 patients with newly diagnosed (...) chronic tinnitus who were treated with notched sound. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was conducted before and after treatment to observe bilateral changes in cortical blood oxygen in the cerebral hemispheres. We compared the changes in connectivity between the two regions of interest, as wells as other cortical regions before and after treatment.ResultsThe results showed That global connectivity between the bilateral auditory cortex of the superior temporal sulcus and the ipsilateral cortex did not change significantly between baseline and the completion of treatment, and That the connectivity between channel 14 and the right superior temporal sulcus decreased after treatment. The overall connectivity between the right BA46 region and the right cortex decreased after treatment, and decreases in connectivity after treatment were specifically found for channels 10 and 14 in the right parietal lobe and channels 16, 20, 21, and 22 in the frontal lobe, while there was no significant change on the left side. There were no significant changes in the questionnaire measures of tinnitus, anxiety, or depression before and after treatment.ConclusionThe results of the study indicate that cerebral cortex reorganization occurs in tinnitus patients after submitted to treatment with notched sound for 1 month, and that notched sound decreases the connectivity between the auditory cortex and specific brain regions.SignificanceNotched sound not only regulates the auditory center through lateral inhibition, but also alleviates tinnitus by reorganizing the emotional control center. (shrink)

Since 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic, as a global public health emergency, has led to stringency measures of various degrees worldwide. As these measures such as social distancing measures and mandatory lockdown are intended to minimize social mobility, they have exerted remarkable impact on individuals’ mental health, particularly, adolescents and children. The mental health problems caused include fear, anxiety, sense of isolation and development of more maladaptive behaviors due to prolonged lockdown and restricted interpersonal contact. However, well adaption status and stable (...) interpersonal relationships play an important role in maintaining and promoting the mental health of adolescents and children. This study aims to gain a new sight of understanding of the mental health quality of Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic in terms of adaptation and interpersonal quality. The study is based on a survey on a total of 7,318 junior and senior high school students aged 12–18 years in various regions of China, and intended to examine the differences in adolescent mental health quality by sociodemographic variables such as gender, grade, urban and rural areas, only child, and parental education level. Our study finds that Chinese adolescents show an overall good adaptation and interpersonal quality during the lockdown. However there exists disparity across different categories in developmental patterns of adaptation and interpersonal quality. In addition, good family environment, moderate financial and emotional support, higher parental education level, etc. contribute to the cultivation and improvement of adolescents’ mental health quality. Finally, we suggest that the government and researchers should pay more attention to adolescents’ mental health issues in terms of adaption status and interpersonal relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for disadvantaged social groups such as girls, younger students, and low-income family students. (shrink)