The use of ball pits and playpens in laboratory Lister Hooded male rats induces ultrasonic vocalisations indicating a more positive affective state and can reduce the welfare impacts of aversive procedures

The advancement and quality of science rely on research that is robust and unbiased in its experimental design, execution, analysis, and reproducibility. In preclinical research, a better understanding of animal emotions and refinement of their husbandry, housing, and handling are important goals in providing good animal welfare in a laboratory setting which underpins rigorous research quality. Induction of positive emotional state in animals is a key component of their well-being, and one approach is to increase their environmental complexity using, for example, ball pits or playpens in rats. In this study, we recorded 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) during animals’ exposure to the ball pit and playpen. We have previously shown that 50 kHz USVs provide a graded and quantifiable measure of an animal’s emotional state, and here find that access to the ball pit and playpen increases 50 kHz USVs, indicative of a more positive affective state. Using our affective bias test (ABT) we next quantified the animals’ emotional response to an aversive intervention and whether this could be attenuated by access to a playpen. The playpen exposure completely mitigated the negative affective state induced by an anxiogenic drug when compared with animals who experienced the drug in the home cage. Together, these findings suggest ball pits and playpens provide a simple and effective method to improve the welfare of laboratory rats and reduce the cumulative suffering they experience from their housing conditions and minor, aversive procedures.

Assessing the impact of pandemic on the resilience of older adults in Tomsk region

В статье впервые представлены результаты оценки влияния пандемии на жизнестойкость старшего поколения на примере Томской обл. На основе данных опроса (400 респондентов 55-92 лет) с использованием шкалы Коннор-Дэвидсона (CD-RISC-25) проведена оценка жизнестойкости старшего поколения и выявлены ее предикторы. Установлена статистически значимая зависимость жизнестойкости, материального благосостояния и эмоционального состояния пожилых респондентов в условиях пандемии коронавируса. Результаты исследования дополняют существующие подходы к оценке и измерению параметров качества жизни старшего поколения и могут быть использованы для проектирования инструментов укрепления жизнестойкости в русле концепции активного долголетия. The article presents pioneer results of assessing the impact of the pandemic on the resilience of the older adults of the Tomsk region. We assessed the resilience of older adults and its predictors basing upon the survey of 400 respondents aged 55-92 using the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC-25). The results reveal statistically significant relationship between the resilience, material well-being and emotional state of elderly respondents in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. The results of the study complement the existing approaches to assessing and measuring the parameters of the quality of life of the older adults, and can be used to design tools for strengthening the resilience in line with the concept of active ageing.

Blue Eyes Technology

The Blue Eyes technology aims at creating computational machines that have perceptual and sensory ability like those of human beings. It uses non-obtrusive sensing method, employing most modern video cameras and microphones to identify the user’s actions through the use of imparted sensory abilities. The machine can understand what a user wants, where he is looking at, and even realize his physical or emotional states. The Blue Eyes Technology developed is intended to be a complex solution for monitoring and recording the operator’s conscious brain involvement as well as his/her physiological condition. This shows yet another development in the field of Brain Computer Interface. The basic idea behind this technology is to give the computer the human power. We all have some perceptual abilities. That is we can understand each other’s feelings. For example we can understand one’s emotional state by analysing his facial expression. If we add these perceptual abilities of human to computers would enable computers to work together with human beings as intimate partners. The “BLUE EYES” technology aims at creating computational machines that have perceptual and sensory ability like those of human beings. This paper discusses the concept of blue eyes technology.

The Effects of Virtual Height Exposure on Postural Control and Psychophysiological Stress Are Moderated by Individual Height Intolerance

Virtual reality (VR) enables individuals to be exposed to naturalistic environments in laboratory settings, offering new possibilities for research in human neuroscience and treatment of mental disorders. We used VR to study psychological, autonomic and postural reactions to heights in individuals with varying intensity of fear of heights. Study participants (N = 42) were immersed in a VR of an unprotected open-air elevator platform in an urban area, while standing on an unstable ground. Virtual elevation of the platform (up to 40 m above the ground level) elicited robust and reliable psychophysiological activation including increased distress, heart rate, and electrodermal activity, which was higher in individuals suffering from fear of heights. In these individuals, compared with individuals with low fear of heights, the VR height exposure resulted in higher velocity of postural movements as well as decreased low-frequency (<0.5 Hz) and increased high-frequency (>1 Hz) body sway oscillations. This indicates that individuals with strong fear of heights react to heights with maladaptive rigidity of posture due to increased weight of visual input for balance control, while the visual information is less reliable at heights. Our findings show that exposure to height in a naturalistic VR environment elicits a complex reaction involving correlated changes of the emotional state, autonomic activity, and postural balance, which are exaggerated in individuals with fear of heights.

Eye-Tracker Study of Influence of Affective Disruptive Content on User’s Visual Attention and Emotional State

When reading interesting content or searching for information on a website, the appearance of a pop-up advertisement in the middle of the screen is perceived as irritating by a recipient. Interrupted cognitive processes are considered unwanted by the user but desired by advertising providers. Diverting visual attention away from the main content is intended to focus the user on the appeared disruptive content. Is the attempt to reach the user by any means justified? In this study, we examined the impact of pop-up emotional content on user reactions. For this purpose, a cognitive experiment was designed where a text-reading task was interrupted by two types of affective pictures: positive and negative ones. To measure the changes in user reactions, an eye-tracker (for analysis of eye movements and changes in gaze points) and an iMotion Platform (for analysis of face muscles’ movements) were used. The results confirm the impact of the type of emotional content on users’ reactions during cognitive process interruptions and indicate that the negative impact of cognitive process interruptions on the user can be reduced. The negative content evoked lower cognitive load, narrower visual attention, and lower irritation compared to positive content. These results offer insight on how to provide more efficient Internet advertising.

Investigating the impact of emotion on temporal orientation in a deep multitask setting

Temporal orientation is an important aspect of human cognition which shows how an individual emphasizes past, present, and future. Theoretical research in psychology shows that one’s emotional state can influence his/her temporal orientation. We hypothesize that measuring human temporal orientation can benefit from concurrent learning of emotion. To test this hypothesis, we propose a deep learning-based multi-task framework where we concurrently learn a unified model for temporal orientation (our primary task) and emotion analysis (secondary task) using tweets. Our multi-task framework takes users’ tweets as input and produces three temporal orientation labels (past, present or future) and four emotion labels (joy, sadness, anger, or fear) with intensity values as outputs. The classified tweets are then grouped for each user to obtain the user-level temporal orientation and emotion. Finally, we investigate the associations between the users’ temporal orientation and their emotional state. Our analysis reveals that joy and anger are correlated to future orientation while sadness and fear are correlated to the past orientation.

Impact of Classical Counterconditioning (Quiet Kennel Exercise) on Barking in Kenneled Dogs—A Pilot Study

Excessive barking is a major source of noise pollution in dog kennels and negatively impacts welfare. Because resources are often limited, minimizing barking in the simplest and most easily implementable way is imperative. This pilot study implemented a Quiet Kennel Exercise (QKE) that utilized classical counterconditioning to change the dogs’ negative emotional state (which can lead to barking) to a more positive emotional state. Therefore, barking motivation is reduced, so barking should decrease. This study aims to show proof of concept that decreasing barking through classical counterconditioning is effective. It was conducted in one ward of day-time boarding kennels at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Data was collected three times per day and included decibel readings, number of dogs present, and number of dogs barking during a 5-day initial baseline and 10-day intervention period. During baseline, people passing through the ward acted as they normally would. During intervention, passersby were asked to simply toss each dog a treat regardless of the dogs’ behaviors in the kennel. Descriptive results show improvement in maximum level of barking after QKE, fewer dogs barking over time, dogs barking less each time, and the most improvement noted in the afternoon.

Investigating e-Retailers’ Intentions to Adopt Cryptocurrency Considering the Mediation of Technostress and Technology Involvement

Cryptocurrencies have transgressed ever-changing economic trends in the global economy, owing to their conveyance, security, trust, and the ability to make transactions without the aid of formal institutions and governing bodies. However, the adoption of cryptocurrency remains low among stakeholders, including e-retailers. Thus, the current work explores the intentions of e-retailers in the Asia and Pacific region to adopt cryptocurrencies. This study considers the TAM-based SOR, with a combination of non-cognitive attributes (compatibility and convenience) proposed as stimuli for e-retailers to adopt the examined cryptocurrencies. The findings indicate that the proposed non-cognitive attributes are critical in determining e-retailers’ technostress (emotional state). Moreover, it was found that technostress among e-retailers profoundly impacts their intentions to adopt cryptocurrency in business settings. Meanwhile, regulatory support communication can be used to help regulatory bodies and governing institutions control the future economy worldwide. The proposed study offers significant theoretical and practical contributions through its investigation of e-retailers’ intentions to adopt cryptocurrency for the first time in the particular context of technostress and regulatory support.