Internet source evaluation: The role of implicit associations and psychophysiological self-regulation

This study focused on middle school students\u2019 source evaluation skills as a key component of digital literacy. Specifically, it examined the role of two unexplored individual factors that may affect the evaluation of sources providing information about the controversial topic of the health risks associated with the use of mobile phones. The factors were the implicit association of mobile phone with health or no health, and psychophysiological self-regulation as reflected in basal Heart Rate Variability (HRV). Seventy-two seventh graders read six webpages that provided contrasting information on the unsettled topic of the potential health risks related to the use of mobile phones. Then they were asked to rank-order the six websites along the dimension of reliability (source evaluation). Findings revealed that students were able to discriminate between the most and least reliable websites, justifying their ranking in light of different criteria. However, overall, they were little accurate in rank-ordering all six Internet sources. Both implicit associations and HRV correlated with source evaluation. The interaction between the two individual variables was a significant predictor of participants\u2019 performance in rank-ordering the websites for reliability. A slope analysis revealed that when students had an average psychophysiological self-regulation, the stronger their association of the mobile phone with health, the better their performance on source evaluation. Theoretical and educational significances of the study are discussed

The role of emotional reactivity in the comprehension of online multiple texts

Multiple text-comprehension relies on a coherent mental representation based on content integration of various texts about a topic (Br\ue5ten et al. 2014; Stadler & Bromme, 2013). With respect to the Kintsch (1998) model of single-text comprehension, the \u201cdocuments model\u201d (Britt & Rouet, 2012; Rouet & Britt, 2011) includes the additional layer of the intertext model, which involves the representation of information about the sources, that is, author, type of document, purposes, date of publication, etc. Person-related factors were examined in the literature on multiple-text comprehension, mostly cognitive factors, such as prior knowledge (Br\ue5ten & Str\uf8ms\uf8, 2010; Br\ue5ten et al., 2013), argumentative reasoning (Mason, Ariasi, & Boldrin, 2011), and epistemic beliefs (Kammerer et al., 2013). Recently, theories of intelligence (Braasch et al., 2014), individual interest (Br\ue5ten et al., 2014), and reading self-efficacy (Br\ue5ten et al., 2013) were also examined as motivational factors. What is unknown in this field is the role of emotions (Pekrun & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2014). In the present study we investigated emotional reactivity as an individual tendency to respond with different intensity to emotional materials (Davidson, 1998). When studying emotions two basic components should be considered: valence and arousal. Valence concerns the degree of pleasantness of students\u2019 response to an emotional stimulus. Arousal regards the intensity of the emotional activation (Pekrun & Perry, 2014). While the former can be easily measured through self-reports of affective states (Crawford & Henry, 2004), arousal is measured at physiological level (Mauss & Robinson, 2009). In this regard, to extend current knowledge, we measured electrodermal activity in response to an emotional material as an index of arousal and sympathetic activation (Boucsein, 2012; Kreibig & Gendolla, 2014). Skin conductance level (SCL) is an electrodermal measure based on the activity of sweat glands that are innervated solely by the sympathetic nervous system. SCL can be collected in a non-intrusive way in school settings. Objectives of the study were the answers to the following research questions (RQ): (1) Can students be grouped according to reliably distinct profiles of emotional response to a negative school-related stimulus in terms of arousal and valence? (2) Do profiles of emotional reactivity differentiate multiple-text comprehension when controlling for potentially interfering factors? For RQ1 we expected that at least two profiles of overall response would emerge when considering physiological reactions and self-perception of emotional states. For RQ2, we expected that the profiles of emotional reactivity would differentiate deeper comprehension at the intertext level. More reactive students would show poorer multiple-text comprehension than less reactive peers. This is because the latter requires extra elaborative processing of the information while more cognitive resources may not be available when individuals tend to become easily hyper-aroused and in a negative affective state

Mothers living with contamination of perfluoroalkyl substances: an assessment of the perceived health risk and self-reported diseases

Widespread contamination of the superficial, drinking, and groundwater by perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was discovered in the Veneto Region (northeast of Italy) in 2013. Mothers from the contaminated area were concerned about the effects of PFAS on their own and their children’s health. We determined the factors that influenced the perceived risk of PFAS and the presence of self-reported diseases by conducting a study with 384 mothers of children aged 1–13 years living in the contaminated area (Red Zone, Veneto, Italy). Information on demography, the sources of exposure, and the health condition of the mothers was collected through an online survey. The serum PFAS concentration was recorded for some of the participants. We determined the factors influencing the perceived risk, risk of health outcomes, and serum PFAS levels through regression analyses. The PFAS perceived risk of the mothers increased with an increase in the trust in scientific institutions and social media, and when many friends were present, trust in politics and full-time employment had a protective effect. The PFAS perceived risk increased the occurrences of self-reported and autoimmune diseases. Longer residence (> 20 years) in the most exposed area (Red Zone A) increased the frequency of some health outcomes. Serum PFAS concentrations decreased with breastfeeding, but increased with tap water consumption, residence in Red Zone A, and residence time. The PFAS perceived risk of the mothers was associated with many factors that influenced reporting of health issues. The association between PFAS exposure and health outcomes needs further investigation

The longitudinal negative impact of early stressful events on emotional and physical well-being: The buffering role of cardiac vagal development

Early stressful events negatively affect emotional and physical well-being. Cardiac vagal tone (CVT), which is associated with better emotional and physical well-being, usually gradually increase in early childhood. Nonetheless, children's CVT developmental trajectories are greatly variable, such that CVT can increase or decrease across the years. The present study examines the longitudinal effects of early stressful events and the role of 4 years CVT developmental trajectory on children's emotional and physical well-being. Forty-two 4-year-old children were enrolled. Number of stressful events and resting electrocardiogram (ECG) were collected at T1. ECG was registered again after one (T2), two (T3) and three (T4) years. Children's emotional and physical well-being were assessed at T4 through the Child Health and Illness Profile – Child Edition (CHIP–CE). CVT development was calculated as the angular coefficient, reflecting the developmental trajectory of CVT across the four timepoints. Results yielded that higher experienced stressful events predicted poorer emotional and physical well-being after 4 years. The interaction between the number of stressful events and CVT development emerged on physical well-being. Early stressful events negatively affect long-term children's emotional and physical well-being while a positive CVT development seems to mitigate the negative effects of early stressful events on physical well-being

Association between exposure to particulate matter during pregnancy and multidimensional development in school‐age children: A cross‐sectional study in Italy

Air pollutants can potentially affect the development of children. However, data on the effect of exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and developmental outcomes in school children are rare. We investigated the link between prenatal exposure to particulate matters smaller than 10 microns (PM10) and the development of school-age children in multiple domains. Cross-sectional data were collected in Italy between 2013 and 2014. Children aged between 5 and 8 years (n = 1187) were assessed on cognitive, communication, socio-emotional, adaptive, and motor developmental domains using the Developmental Profile 3 questionnaire. The monthly average concentration of PM10 during the entire fetal period was linked to the municipality of residence of the children. The increase in the prenatal PM10 was associated with a decrease in the cognitive score during the second (+13.2 µg/m3 PM10 increase: −0.30 points; 95%CI: −0.12–−0.48) and third trimesters of pregnancy (−0.31 points; 95%CI: −0.11–−0.50). The communicative domain was also negatively influenced by PM10 increases in the second trimester. The development of cognitive and communicative abilities of children was negatively associated with the exposure to PM10 during the period of fetal development, confirming that exposure to air pollution during pregnancy can potentially hinder the development of the brain

Atypical polypoid adenomyoma follow-up and management: Systematic review of case reports and series and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Atypical polypoid adenomyoma (APA) is a rare uterine tumor typically found in fertile age and associated with infertility. Among young nullipara women, conservative treatment is proposed despite the high recurrence rate and the association with endometrial cancer.Our aim was to assess the risk of recurrence with different conservative treatments in fertile ages and the prevalence of malignant or pre-malignant associated lesions to better address an adequate patient counselling when treatment modalities are discussed. METHODS: This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of case reports and case series about APA management and follow-up. A literature search was carried from Medline and Scopus for studies published from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2018. RESULTS: We included 46 observational studies and 296 cases in fertile women. The prevalence of APA relapse was 44% (CI.95 33-57%) and was lower in cases treated with operative hysteroscopy (22%; CI.95 11-39%) than in cases treated with blind curettage and polypectomy (38%; CI.95 15-67%). The prevalence of the concomitant or during the follow-up diagnosis of endometrial carcinoma was 16% (CI.95 9-29%). The risk of cancer development during follow-up was significantly less in cases treated with histeroscopy (10.56% new cumulative diagnosis at 5 years follow up; CI.95 0-23.7%) than blind curettage and polypectomy (35.5% new cumulative diagnosis at 5 years; CI.95 11.65-52.92%; P\u200a<\u200a.05). Medical treatment with medroxyprogesterone acetate after surgery does not reduce APA recurrence. Pregnancy was observed in 79% cases in which the desire was expressed. CONCLUSION: This review suggests that conservative treatment performed by operative hysteroscopy is the optimal choice because it lowers the risk of recurrence, improves the accuracy of concomitant carcinoma or hyperplasia diagnosis, and leaves the possibility of future pregnancies

Emotional intelligence buffers the effect of physiological arousal on dishonesty

We studied the emotional processes that allow people to balance two competing desires: benefitting from dishonesty and keeping a positive self-image. We recorded physiological arousal (skin conductance and heart rate) during a computer card game in which participants could cheat and fail to report a certain card when presented on the screen to avoid losing their money. We found that higher skin conductance corresponded to lower cheating rates. Importantly, emotional intelligence regulated this effect; participants with high emotional intelligence were less affected by their physiological reactions than those with low emotional intelligence. As a result, they were more likely to profit from dishonesty. However, no interaction emerged between heart rate and emotional intelligence. We suggest that the ability to manage and control emotions can allow people to overcome the tension between doing right or wrong and license them to bend the rules

Factors affecting T cell responses induced by fully synthetic glyco-gold-nanoparticles

We have synthesized and characterized nearly monodisperse and highly pure gold nanoparticles (2 and 5 nm) coated with non-immunoactive mono- and disaccharides, modelled after the capsular polysaccharide of serogroup A of the Neisseria meningitidis bacterium. We have used them to test their ability to induce immune cell responses as a consequence of their multivalency. The results indicate that they are indeed immunoactive and that immunoactivity is strongly dependent on size, and larger, 5 nm nanoparticles perform far better than smaller, 2 nm ones. Immune response (activation of macrophages) initiates with the whole nanoparticle recognition by the surface of antigen-presenting cells, independent of the saccharide oligomerization (or charge) on the nanoparticle surface. The induction of T cell proliferation and the increase of IL-2 levels, a consequence of the expression of MHC II involved in antigen presentation, require the presence of a disaccharide on the nanoparticle, not just a monosaccharide. A possible explanation is that, at this stage, the saccharides are detached from the gold surface. These results may provide leads for designing new saccharide-based, nanoparticle-conjugate vaccines

Impact of resilience enhancing programs on youth surviving the Beslan school siege

The objective of this study was to evaluate a resilience-enhancing program for youth (mean age = 13.32 years) from Beslan, North Ossetia, in the Russian Federation. The program, offered in the summer of 2006, combined recreation, sport, and psychosocial rehabilitation activities for 94 participants, 46 of who were taken hostage in the 2004 school tragedy and experienced those events first hand. Self-reported resilience, as measured by the CD-RISC, was compared within subjects at the study baseline and at two follow-up assessments: immediately after the program and 6 months later. We also compared changes in resilience levels across groups that differed in their traumatic experiences. The results indicate a significant intra-participant mean increase in resilience at both follow-up assessments, and greater self-reported improvements in resilience processes for participants who experienced more trauma events