Increased arithmetic complexity is associated with domain-general but not domain-specific magnitude processing in children: A simultaneous fNIRS-EEG study

The investigation of the neural underpinnings of increased arithmetic complexity in children is essential for developing educational and therapeutic approaches and might provide novel measures to assess the effects of interventions. Although a few studies in adults and children have revealed the activation of bilateral brain regions during more complex calculations, little is known about children. We investigated 24 children undergoing one-digit and two-digit multiplication tasks while simultaneously recording functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) data. FNIRS data indicated that one-digit multiplication was associated with brain activity in the left superior parietal lobule (SPL) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) extending to the left motor area, and two-digit multiplication was associated with activity in bilateral SPL, IPS, middle frontal gyrus (MFG), left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and motor areas. Oscillatory EEG data indicated theta increase and alpha decrease in parieto-occipital sites for both one-digit and two-digit multiplication. The contrast of two-digit versus one-digit multiplication yielded greater activity in right MFG and greater theta increase in frontocentral sites. Activation in frontal areas and theta band data jointly indicate additional domain-general cognitive control and working memory demands for heightened arithmetic complexity in children. The similarity in parietal activation between conditions suggests that children rely on domain-specific magnitude processing not only for two-digit but—in contrast to adults—also for one-digit multiplication problem solving. We conclude that in children, increased arithmetic complexity tested in an ecologically valid setting is associated with domain-general processes but not with alteration of domain-specific magnitude processing.     

Gentzen-Style Axiomatizations for Some Conservative Extensions of Basic Propositional Logic

We introduce two Gentzen-style sequent calculus axiomatizations for conservative extensions of basic propositional logic. Our first axiomatization is an ipmrovement of, in the sense that it has a kind of the subformula property and is a slight modification of. In this system the cut rule is eliminated. The second axiomatization is a classical conservative extension of basic propositional logic. Using these axiomatizations, we prove interpolation theorems for basic propositional logic.     

The Persian Version of the Personality Beliefs Questionnaire-Short-Form (PBQ-SF): A Psychometric Evaluation

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy - The Personality Beliefs Questionnaire-Short Form (PBQ-SF) is the short-form version of PBQ (Beck and Beck in The personality belief...     

The effect of a psycho-educational intervention on weight management in obese military personnel

Obesity is a serious health problem for many population groups, including military personnel. Model-based health education programs have been shown to be effective in reducing weight. This study assessed the efficacy of an educational intervention based on a trans-theoretical model (TTM) targeting weight loss among active duty military. A single group experimental study using a before-after design was conducted in 49 military personnel with obesity. Constructs such as self-efficacy, decisional balance, stages of change, and processes of change as well as anthropometric measures including weight, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) were assessed at three times (baseline, 2 months after the intervention, and 4 months later). The intervention consisted of 10 educational sessions developed based on TTM constructs. At baseline, 30 (61%) and 19 (39%) persons were in the pre-action and action stages, respectively. By 2 months after the intervention, only 24 persons (49%) were in pre-action stages and 25 (51%) were in the action stages. Four months later, one (2%) and 43 (88%) were in pre-action and action stages. The mean changes in self-efficacy (25.7 ± 4.1 to 29.3 ± 2.4), decisional balance (9.2 ± 3.6 to 13.8 ± 1.9), total cognitive (74.7 ± 8.5 to 84.7 ± 6.3), and total behavioral change (60.8 ± 9.8 to 71.7 ± 7.8) were significantly different across the three time points. Reductions in weight (99.8 ± 10.4 to 93.0 ± 9.6), waist circumference (105.9 ± 14.2 to 100.2 ± 13.0), and BMI (32.5 ± 5.2 to 30.3 ± 4.5) from baseline to 4 months after the intervention were also significant (p < 0.05). An educational program based on TTM may be effective in reducing weight among obese military staff.     

The impact of religious cognitive behavioural therapy (RCBT) on general health among Iranians

The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of religious cognitive behavioural therapy (RCBT) on general health among Iranians. This study was a randomised, single-blinded clinical trial from April 2017 to October 2017. One hundred forty-four Yazd citizens were selected using a cluster sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental or control groups. The experimental groups received 10 sessions of RCBT, lasting 45 minutes once a week and the control group remained on the waiting list. The results showed that mean general health scores in the experimental groups were significantly lower than those in the control group on the post-test. RCBT had the most positive impact on somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction, depression, and mental health. Based on these findings RCBT can be considered a significant and effective practical therapy for improving both general and psychological health.     

Emotional stimuli facilitate time perception in children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of different emotional stimuli (neutral, positive, and negative) on time perception in children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and normal children in dual‐task form. Five hundred and ninety‐nine students from primary schools were randomly selected. The Conner's Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) questionnaire was completed by teachers. A total of 100 children with a score above the cut‐off point for the CTRS were further assessed using the Child Symptom Inventory‐4 (CSI‐4). A total of 34 children with ADHD and 31 controls completed an emotional time discrimination task in two blocks of 1000 and 2000 ms duration. Children were asked to compare three image groups: neutral with neutral, neutral with positive, and neutral with negative images. Children with ADHD had significantly better performance in the emotional time discrimination task across all conditions when compared with controls: On average, discrimination thresholds were approximately 35 ms shorter for the children with ADHD. Our results indicate that children with ADHD have higher sensitivity to time relative to controls in a situation in which they must distribute resources between temporal and emotional processing. On the basis of the interference effect and the working memory capacity hypothesis, this dividing of attention causes a decrease of time accuracy in normal children.     

Attachment Style,Perceived Loneliness,and Psychological Well-Being in Smoking and Non-Smoking University Students

The growing rate of smoking cigarettes among the youths necessitates examining its contributing factors. Accordingly, we aimed to compare smoking and nonsmoking university students in their attachment styles, perceived loneliness, and psychological well-being. To this end, we recruited 100 current smokers and 100 nonsmoking students by using a convenience sampling method from Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. All participants completed the Adult Attachment Scale, Loneliness Scale, and General Health Questionnaire. Data analysis indicated that compared to nonsmokers, smokers had a more anxious attachment style and they felt lonelier. Moreover, current results showed that smokers suffered from higher rates of psychological problems than nonsmokers. These results suggest that smoking is influenced by a set of psychological factors and therefore, prevention and treatment programs targeting these factors may be effective in reducing the rate of smoking cigarettes among university students.     

Inhibitors to EFL teachers’ reflective teaching and EFL learners’ reflective thinking and the role of teaching experience and academic degree in reflection perception

The present study investigated Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ perception of their own reflective teaching, of inhibitors to their reflective teaching, of inhibitors to their students’ reflective thinking, and the impact of teaching experience and academic degree on their perception of reflective teaching. To this end, 304 private-language-institute English as a Foreign Language Teachers teachers participated in the study by completing English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory developed by Akbari, Behzadpoor, and Dadvand, Inhibitors to EFL Teachers’ Reflective Teaching Questionnaire and Inhibitors to EFL Learners’ Reflective Thinking Questionnaire, with the last two instruments being developed and validated by the researchers. The results indicated that (1) Iranian EFL teachers perceived their reflective teaching to lie at a medium level, (2) three types of inhibitors to EFL teachers’ reflective teaching included ‘lack of knowledge’, ‘affective-emotional’ and ‘teaching situation’ inhibitors, and (3) three types of inhibitors to EFL learners’ reflective thinking also comprised ‘affective-emotional’, ‘cognitive’ and ‘learning situation’ inhibitors. The results of two-way ANOVA indicated both academic degree and teaching experience significantly differentiated Iranian EFL teachers with respect to their reflective teaching perception, but the interaction effect of them did not do so. The results are discussed in detail in the article.     

University Student Depression Inventory: Measurement model and psychometric properties

University Student Depression Inventory (USDI) was developed to assess the symptoms of depression among the university students. Considering the debilitating nature of depression among university students globally, USDI was translated in Persian and validated using university students from Iran. A battery including the Persian version of USDI and scales measuring suicide, depression, and stress was administered to a normative sample of 359 undergraduate students, and an additional clinical sample of 150 students referred to the university's mental health centre. The results supported the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the translated version. Confirmatory factor analysis upheld the previously reported three‐factor first‐order and one‐factor second‐order structure. The internal consistency, test‐retest reliability, and concurrent and discriminant validity of the Persian version were supported. Cut‐off points using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were established to identify students at risk. Gender differences on the symptoms of depression were evident only in the normative sample, where male participants, compared with female students, had higher mean scores in lethargy, cognitive/emotion, and academic motivation subscales. The translated scale can be used with Persian‐speaking students in Iran and the neighbouring countries as well as those settled in the West to identify symptoms of depression for further evaluation and management.