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COVID-19 has altered our lifestyle, communication, employment, and also our emotions. The pandemic and its devastating implications have had a significant impact on higher education, as well as other sectors. Numerous researchers have utilized typical statistical methods to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing of young people. Moreover, the primary aspects that have changed in the psychological condition of children and young adults during COVID lockdown is analyzed. These changes are analyzed using machine learning and AI techniques which should be established for the alterations. This research work mainly concentrates on children’s and young people’s mental health in the first lockdown. There are six processes involved in this work. Initially, it collects the data using questionnaires, and then, the collected data are pre-processed by data cleaning, categorical encoding, and data normalization method. Next, the clustering process is used for grouping the data based on their mood state, and then, the feature selection process is done by chi-square, L1-Norm, and ReliefF. Then, the machine learning classifiers are used for predicting the mood state, and automatic calibration is used for selecting the best model. Finally, it predicts the mood state of the children and young adults. The findings revealed that for a better understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s and youths’ mental states, a combination of heterogeneous data from practically all feature groups is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In order to promote the development of high-quality professional basketball referees in China, we explored the relationship between their coping styles and mood states during the game and assessed the contributions of psychological resilience and frustration tolerance to this relationship. Methods: A total of 364 national and international male and female basketball referees were recruited and surveyed via the online questionnaire platform "Questionnaire Star". All participants signed an informed consent form and completed the questionnaire. Common method bias test and Pearson correlation tests were used to analyze the study indicators, and the theoretical model for this study was validated using Process plug-in developed by Hayes. Results: The results of the study showed that the coping style of the referees significantly predicted their psychological resilience, frustration tolerance, and mood state. Coping style enhanced psychological resilience (β = -0.30) and frustration tolerance (β = 0.38) and improved the mood states (β = 0.33) of the referees. In addition, coping style directly predicted mood state but also indirectly predict mood state through the intermediary variables of psychological resilience (β = 0.14) and frustration tolerance (β = 0.11), and the mediating effects accounted for 24.20 and 18.90% of the total effect, with psychological resilience playing a greater role than frustration tolerance. (β: standardized regression coefficient). Conclusion: These findings suggest that when training high-level basketball referees, increasing the psychological indicators related to the coping styles and psychological resilience of high-level basketball referees can avoid their large emotional fluctuations and improve their accuracy in judging when facing unexpected events on the court. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Basic combat training (BCT) is a kind of necessary high-intensity training to help each military recruit convert into a qualified soldier. In China, both the physical fatigue and passive psychological state have been observed in new recruits during BCT. However, after same-intensity training, the degree of fatigue and passive mood vary among recruits. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effect of BCT on mood state of recruits with different physical fitness levels from a perspective of fatigue. Materials and methods: Before and after BCT, the degree of fatigue and mood state of participants were evaluated via the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale and Profile of Mood States Questionnaire immediately after 20 pushups as RPE and POMS scores [total mood disturbance (TMD), passive mood (Ttension, Tanger, Tfatigue, Tdepression, and Tconfusion) and positive mood (Tvigour and Testeem)]. The participants were divided into two groups according to the RPE score measured after BCT: (1) group 1: RPE score after BCT < 13 and (2) group 2: RPE score after BCT ≥ 13. Result: A total of 564 recruits were included (group 1: 456/564, 80.85%; group 2: 108/564, 19.15%). After BCT, in group 1, TMD (from 95.65 ± 17.89 to 87.52 ± 17.63) and passive mood Ttension (from 4.46 ± 3.18 to 3.79 ± 3.14), Tfatigue (from 4.94 ± 3.58 to 3.12 ± 3.04), Tdepression (from 2.86 ± 3.41 to 2.01 ± 2.75), Tconfusion (3.12 ± 2.72 to 2.42 ± 2.57) declined significantly (all within-group p < 0.001), but positive mood both increased significantly (Tvigour: from 13.21 ± 4.59 to 15.44 ± 5.42, Testeem: from 9.18 ± 3.36 to 11.04 ± 3.67; both within-group p < 0.001); while in group 2, only Tanger (from 4.27 ± 4.16 to 6.22 ± 5.94, within-group p = 0.001) and Testeem (from 8.36 ± 3.15 to 9.07 ± 3.67, within-group p = 0.031) increased significantly. Conclusion: BCT could alleviate passive mood and add to positive mood for recruits with better physical fitness, while had no ameliorative effects on or even deteriorate most of the passive mood for recruits with worse physical fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the parallel mediating eects of positive and negative mood states on the relationship between psychological resilience and emotional stability among first-through third-year senior high school students in China during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 408 questionnaires distributed from April 11 to April 22, 2022, to students at a high school located in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, 360 were completed correctly and analyzed using a cross-sectional study design. The questionnaire included items fromthemodified Chinese version of the Psychological Resilience Scale, the Profile of Mood States scale, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Short Scale in Chinese, the latter to assess emotional stability. The mediating eects of mood states on the relationship between psychological resilience and emotional stability were explored by using structural equation modeling and bootstrappingmethods. The results indicated that psychological resilience directly aected emotional stability but also indirectly aected emotional stability through the mediating eects of positive and negative mood states. The mediating eect of negative mood states was greater than that of positive mood states. This result diers from that of research conducted prior to the pandemic, which found that compared with the damage caused by negativemoods to emotional stability, positivemoodsmore strongly promoted emotional stability. Our findings indicate that high school officials in China should consider strengthening mental health support for students who are taking courses online during home quarantine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has altered our lifestyle, communication, employment, and also our emotions. The pandemic and its devastating implications have had a significant impact on higher education, as well as other sectors. Numerous researchers have utilized typical statistical methods to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing of young people. Moreover, the primary aspects that have changed in the psychological condition of children and young adults during COVID lockdown is analyzed. These changes are analyzed using machine learning and AI techniques which should be established for the alterations. This research work mainly concentrates on children's and young people's mental health in the first lockdown. There are six processes involved in this work. Initially, it collects the data using questionnaires, and then, the collected data are pre-processed by data cleaning, categorical encoding, and data normalization method. Next, the clustering process is used for grouping the data based on their mood state, and then, the feature selection process is done by chi-square, L1-Norm, and ReliefF. Then, the machine learning classifiers are used for predicting the mood state, and automatic calibration is used for selecting the best model. Finally, it predicts the mood state of the children and young adults. The findings revealed that for a better understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's and youths' mental states, a combination of heterogeneous data from practically all feature groups is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has altered our lifestyle, communication, employment, and also our emotions. The pandemic and its devastating implications have had a significant impact on higher education, as well as other sectors. Numerous researchers have utilized typical statistical methods to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing of young people. Moreover, the primary aspects that have changed in the psychological condition of children and young adults during COVID lockdown is analyzed. These changes are analyzed using machine learning and AI techniques which should be established for the alterations. This research work mainly concentrates on children's and young people's mental health in the first lockdown. There are six processes involved in this work. Initially, it collects the data using questionnaires, and then, the collected data are pre-processed by data cleaning, categorical encoding, and data normalization method. Next, the clustering process is used for grouping the data based on their mood state, and then, the feature selection process is done by chi-square, L1-Norm, and ReliefF. Then, the machine learning classifiers are used for predicting the mood state, and automatic calibration is used for selecting the best model. Finally, it predicts the mood state of the children and young adults. The findings revealed that for a better understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's and youths' mental states, a combination of heterogeneous data from practically all feature groups is required.

This study verifies associated factors with trait and state anxiety in professional soccer teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample was composed of 315 athletes, coaches, and physical trainers of professional soccer teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. From this amount, 214 were classified with trait anxiety, and 315 were classified with state anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). This study is an epidemiological and cross-sectional study. We applied an observational method, and we performed a remote measurement. The measurement was made via online questionnaires in male and female individuals working on soccer teams (soccer professionals or athletes) who could be affected by anxiety during social isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic. Each questionnaire was composed of sociodemographic questions, self-perceived performance, and STAI. The main results indicated a significant difference between female vs. male soccer professionals in state anxiety (54.97 ± 9.43 vs. 57.65 ± 9.48 index) and trait anxiety (54.21 ± 5.74 vs. 55.76 ± 6.41 index) with higher results in men. Sociodemographic variables impacted significant differences between female and male athletes and professionals of soccer clubs, and anxiety during the pandemic COVID-19 period impacted self-perceived performance analysis. The present results highlight the importance of cognitive behavior therapy for professional soccer teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study verifies associated factors with trait and state anxiety in professional soccer teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample was composed of 315 athletes, coaches, and physical trainers of professional soccer teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. From this amount, 214 were classified with trait anxiety, and 315 were classified with state anxiety using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). This study is an epidemiological and cross-sectional study. We applied an observational method, and we performed a remote measurement. The measurement was made via online questionnaires in male and female individuals working on soccer teams (soccer professionals or athletes) who could be affected by anxiety during social isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic. Each questionnaire was composed of sociodemographic questions, self-perceived performance, and STAI. The main results indicated a significant difference between female vs. male soccer professionals in state anxiety (54.97 ± 9.43 vs. 57.65 ± 9.48 index) and trait anxiety (54.21 ± 5.74 vs. 55.76 ± 6.41 index) with higher results in men. Sociodemographic variables impacted significant differences between female and male athletes and professionals of soccer clubs, and anxiety during the pandemic COVID-19 period impacted self-perceived performance analysis. The present results highlight the importance of cognitive behavior therapy for professional soccer teams.

The present study aims to compare quality of life, depression, anxiety symptoms, and profile of mood state of wheelchair athletes and non-athletes. Thirty-nine basketball and rugby wheelchair athletes (n = 23, nine women, age 36.0 ± 10.0 years; body mass 66.2 ± 13.8 kg; height 170.0 ± 8.5 cm) and non-athletes (n = 16, 4 women, 39.0 ± 14.2 years; body mass 79.6 ± 17.2 kg; height 170.0 ± 6.4 cm) were recruited. Quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms and mood disorders were evaluated by the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory and Profile of Mood State questionnaire, respectively. Comparison between groups (non-athletes vs. athletes) was performed using Student’s t-test for independent samples. No differences (p > 0.05) were found between non-athletes vs. athletes regards to quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms and profile of mood state. Overall, non-athletes and athletes presented medium anxiety symptoms and mild to moderate depressive symptoms. In conclusion, the wheelchair athletes and non-athletes presented similar quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and profile of mood state.

Investigating the mood-creativity relationship in everyday life is important for innovation promotion in organizational management. This study explores the relationship between mood states and everyday creativity using two different measurement methods. Both the experience sampling method (ESM) and the day reconstruction method (DRM) were simultaneously applied to conduct a 15-day follow-up study of the relationship between 10 typical positive and negative moods and creativity in daily situations. In total, 31 corporate employees participated in the study. Participants reported their mood states and creativity at three time points per day by using ESM; they also recalled and reported their mood states and creativity for at least three major events per day at the end of each day by using DRM. In total, we collected 935 valid measurements from ESM and 1260 valid measurements from DRM. The results revealed that highly active, positive moods including happiness, concentration, feeling active and interested had significant positive correlations with creativity, while the low-activity, negative mood states of feeling tired and sleepy were associated with low creativity. Both DRM-based and ESM-based results were largely consistent in measuring individual’s mood states and everyday creativity. To our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct DRM for mood-creativity relationship. The high consistency between the two daily research methods provides further empirical evidence toward a comprehensive understanding of mood and creativity. As DRM imposes a lessened respondent load on the participants as compared to ESM, our results suggest DRM as a promising tool for further mood-creativity research.

To investigate the universality and cultural specificity of emotion processing in children from three different ethnic groups (Han, Jingpo, and Dai), we administered three questionnaires, including the emotional contagion scale, emotion regulation scale, and the Chinese mood adjective check list, to 1,362 ethnic Han, Dai, and Jingpo participants (Mage = 13.78 years). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the universality and cultural specificity in the relations among emotional contagion, emotion regulation, and mood state. The results revealed that emotion regulation mediated the relation between emotional contagion and mood state: positive emotional contagion increased positive mood state and decreased negative mood state by the mediated role of reappraisal, negative emotional contagion decreased positive contagion and increased negative mood state by the inconsistent mediated role of reappraisal; negative contagion increased negative mood state by the mediated role of suppression. We found both universality and cultural specificity in the relations among emotional contagion, emotion regulation, and mood state. Regarding cultural specificity, among Dai and Jingpo participants, negative contagion positively predicted reappraisal, while for Han participants, it did not; Jingpo participants demonstrated a weaker negative relation between reappraisal and negative mood state, and a stronger positive relation between negative contagion and suppression; and Dai participants were the only ethnic group that showed a negative connection between negative contagion and positive mood state. Regarding emotion universality, the three ethnic groups all showed positive relations between negative contagion and negative mood, and between suppression and negative mood; additionally, positive contagion positively predicted positive mood state, mediated by reappraisal. Thus, some emotion processes are universal and others more specific. In this paper, we discuss universal emotion processes and ethnic cultural differences in these emotion processes.

The present study aims to compare quality of life, depression, anxiety symptoms, and profile of mood state of wheelchair athletes and non-athletes. Thirty-nine basketball and rugby wheelchair athletes (n = 23, nine women, age 36.0 ± 10.0 years; body mass 66.2 ± 13.8 kg; height 170.0 ± 8.5 cm) and non-athletes (n = 16, 4 women, 39.0 ± 14.2 years; body mass 79.6 ± 17.2 kg; height 170.0 ± 6.4 cm) were recruited. Quality of life, anxiety and depressive symptoms and mood disorders were evaluated by the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory and Profile of Mood State questionnaire, respectively. Comparison between groups (non-athletes vs. athletes) was performed using Student's t -test for independent samples. No differences (p > 0.05) were found between non-athletes vs. athletes regards to quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms and profile of mood state. Overall, non-athletes and athletes presented medium anxiety symptoms and mild to moderate depressive symptoms. In conclusion, the wheelchair athletes and non-athletes presented similar quality of life, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and profile of mood state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the mood-creativity relationship in everyday life is important for innovation promotion in organizational management. This study explores the relationship between mood states and everyday creativity using two different measurement methods. Both the experience sampling method (ESM) and the day reconstruction method (DRM) were simultaneously applied to conduct a 15-day follow-up study of the relationship between 10 typical positive and negative moods and creativity in daily situations. In total, 31 corporate employees participated in the study. Participants reported their mood states and creativity at three time points per day by using ESM; they also recalled and reported their mood states and creativity for at least three major events per day at the end of each day by using DRM. In total, we collected 935 valid measurements from ESM and 1260 valid measurements from DRM. The results revealed that highly active, positive moods including happiness, concentration, feeling active and interested had significant positive correlations with creativity, while the low-activity, negative mood states of feeling tired and sleepy were associated with low creativity. Both DRM-based and ESM-based results were largely consistent in measuring individual's mood states and everyday creativity. To our knowledge, this is the first study to conduct DRM for mood-creativity relationship. The high consistency between the two daily research methods provides further empirical evidence toward a comprehensive understanding of mood and creativity. As DRM imposes a lessened respondent load on the participants as compared to ESM, our results suggest DRM as a promising tool for further mood-creativity research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the universality and cultural specificity of emotion processing in children from three different ethnic groups (Han, Jingpo, and Dai), we administered three questionnaires, including the emotional contagion scale, emotion regulation scale, and the Chinese mood adjective check list, to 1,362 ethnic Han, Dai, and Jingpo participants (M age = 13.78 years). Structural equation modeling was used to examine the universality and cultural specificity in the relations among emotional contagion, emotion regulation, and mood state. The results revealed that emotion regulation mediated the relation between emotional contagion and mood state: positive emotional contagion increased positive mood state and decreased negative mood state by the mediated role of reappraisal, negative emotional contagion decreased positive contagion and increased negative mood state by the inconsistent mediated role of reappraisal; negative contagion increased negative mood state by the mediated role of suppression. We found both universality and cultural specificity in the relations among emotional contagion, emotion regulation, and mood state. Regarding cultural specificity, among Dai and Jingpo participants, negative contagion positively predicted reappraisal, while for Han participants, it did not; Jingpo participants demonstrated a weaker negative relation between reappraisal and negative mood state, and a stronger positive relation between negative contagion and suppression; and Dai participants were the only ethnic group that showed a negative connection between negative contagion and positive mood state. Regarding emotion universality, the three ethnic groups all showed positive relations between negative contagion and negative mood, and between suppression and negative mood; additionally, positive contagion positively predicted positive mood state, mediated by reappraisal. Thus, some emotion processes are universal and others more specific. In this paper, we discuss universal emotion processes and ethnic cultural differences in these emotion processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at comparing the effects of the Baduanjin mind-body (BMB) intervention with a conventional relaxation training program on enhancing the executive function. The study also attempts to explore the neural substrates underlying the cognitive effect of BMB intervention using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique. Forty-two healthy college students were randomly allocated into either the Baduanjin intervention group or relaxation training (control) group. Training lasted for 8 weeks (90 min/day, 5 days/week). Each participant was administered the shortened Profile of Mood States to evaluate their mood status and the flanker task to evaluate executive function before and after training. While performing the flanker task, the NIRS data were collected from each participant. After training, individuals who have participated in BMB exercise showed a significant reduction in depressive mood compared with the same measure before the intervention. However, participants in the control group showed no such reduction. The before vs. after measurement difference in the flanker task incongruent trails was significant only for the Baduanjin intervention group. Interestingly, an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin in the left prefrontal cortex was observed during the Incongruent Trails test only after the BMB exercise intervention. These findings implicate that Baduanjin is an effective and easy-to-administering mind-body exercise for improving executive function and perhaps brain self-regulation in a young and healthy population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In order to promote the development of high-quality professional basketball referees in China, we explored the relationship between their coping styles and mood states during the game and assessed the contributions of psychological resilience and frustration tolerance to this relationship., Methods: A total of 364 national and international male and female basketball referees were recruited and surveyed via the online questionnaire platform "Questionnaire Star". All participants signed an informed consent form and completed the questionnaire. Common method bias test and Pearson correlation tests were used to analyze the study indicators, and the theoretical model for this study was validated using Process plug-in developed by Hayes., Results: The results of the study showed that the coping style of the referees significantly predicted their psychological resilience, frustration tolerance, and mood state. Coping style enhanced psychological resilience ( β  = -0.30) and frustration tolerance ( β  = 0.38) and improved the mood states ( β  = 0.33) of the referees. In addition, coping style directly predicted mood state but also indirectly predict mood state through the intermediary variables of psychological resilience ( β  = 0.14) and frustration tolerance ( β  = 0.11), and the mediating effects accounted for 24.20 and 18.90% of the total effect, with psychological resilience playing a greater role than frustration tolerance. (β: standardized regression coefficient)., Conclusion: These findings suggest that when training high-level basketball referees, increasing the psychological indicators related to the coping styles and psychological resilience of high-level basketball referees can avoid their large emotional fluctuations and improve their accuracy in judging when facing unexpected events on the court., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wang, Wang, Huang and Wan.)

Objective: Basic combat training (BCT) is a kind of necessary high-intensity training to help each military recruit convert into a qualified soldier. In China, both the physical fatigue and passive psychological state have been observed in new recruits during BCT. However, after same-intensity training, the degree of fatigue and passive mood vary among recruits. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the effect of BCT on mood state of recruits with different physical fitness levels from a perspective of fatigue., Materials and Methods: Before and after BCT, the degree of fatigue and mood state of participants were evaluated via the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale and Profile of Mood States Questionnaire immediately after 20 push-ups as RPE and POMS scores [total mood disturbance (TMD), passive mood (T tension , T anger , T fatigue , T depression , and T confusion ) and positive mood (T vigour and T esteem )]. The participants were divided into two groups according to the RPE score measured after BCT: (1) group 1: RPE score after BCT < 13 and (2) group 2: RPE score after BCT ≥ 13., Result: A total of 564 recruits were included (group 1: 456/564, 80.85%; group 2: 108/564, 19.15%). After BCT, in group 1, TMD (from 95.65 ± 17.89 to 87.52 ± 17.63) and passive mood T tension (from 4.46 ± 3.18 to 3.79 ± 3.14), T fatigue (from 4.94 ± 3.58 to 3.12 ± 3.04), T depression (from 2.86 ± 3.41 to 2.01 ± 2.75), T confusion (3.12 ± 2.72 to 2.42 ± 2.57) declined significantly (all within-group p < 0.001), but positive mood both increased significantly (T vigour : from 13.21 ± 4.59 to 15.44 ± 5.42, T esteem: from 9.18 ± 3.36 to 11.04 ± 3.67; both within-group p < 0.001); while in group 2, only T anger (from 4.27 ± 4.16 to 6.22 ± 5.94, within-group p = 0.001) and T esteem (from 8.36 ± 3.15 to 9.07 ± 3.67, within-group p = 0.031) increased significantly., Conclusion: BCT could alleviate passive mood and add to positive mood for recruits with better physical fitness, while had no ameliorative effects on or even deteriorate most of the passive mood for recruits with worse physical fitness., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Ruan, Song, Yin, Wang, Zou, Wang, Gu and Ling.)

This study investigated the parallel mediating effects of positive and negative mood states on the relationship between psychological resilience and emotional stability among first- through third-year senior high school students in China during the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 408 questionnaires distributed from April 11 to April 22, 2022, to students at a high school located in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, 360 were completed correctly and analyzed using a cross-sectional study design. The questionnaire included items from the modified Chinese version of the Psychological Resilience Scale, the Profile of Mood States scale, and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Short Scale in Chinese, the latter to assess emotional stability. The mediating effects of mood states on the relationship between psychological resilience and emotional stability were explored by using structural equation modeling and bootstrapping methods. The results indicated that psychological resilience directly affected emotional stability but also indirectly affected emotional stability through the mediating effects of positive and negative mood states. The mediating effect of negative mood states was greater than that of positive mood states. This result differs from that of research conducted prior to the pandemic, which found that compared with the damage caused by negative moods to emotional stability, positive moods more strongly promoted emotional stability. Our findings indicate that high school officials in China should consider strengthening mental health support for students who are taking courses online during home quarantine., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Han and Wang.)

COVID-19 has altered our lifestyle, communication, employment, and also our emotions. The pandemic and its devastating implications have had a significant impact on higher education, as well as other sectors. Numerous researchers have utilized typical statistical methods to determine the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological wellbeing of young people. Moreover, the primary aspects that have changed in the psychological condition of children and young adults during COVID lockdown is analyzed. These changes are analyzed using machine learning and AI techniques which should be established for the alterations. This research work mainly concentrates on children's and young people's mental health in the first lockdown. There are six processes involved in this work. Initially, it collects the data using questionnaires, and then, the collected data are pre-processed by data cleaning, categorical encoding, and data normalization method. Next, the clustering process is used for grouping the data based on their mood state, and then, the feature selection process is done by chi-square, L1-Norm, and ReliefF. Then, the machine learning classifiers are used for predicting the mood state, and automatic calibration is used for selecting the best model. Finally, it predicts the mood state of the children and young adults. The findings revealed that for a better understanding of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's and youths' mental states, a combination of heterogeneous data from practically all feature groups is required., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Luo and Huang.)

This study aims at comparing the effects of the Baduanjin mind-body (BMB) intervention with a conventional relaxation training program on enhancing the executive function. The study also attempts to explore the neural substrates underlying the cognitive effect of BMB intervention using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique. Forty-two healthy college students were randomly allocated into either the Baduanjin intervention group or relaxation training (control) group. Training lasted for 8 weeks (90 min/day, 5 days/week). Each participant was administered the shortened Profile of Mood States to evaluate their mood status and the flanker task to evaluate executive function before and after training. While performing the flanker task, the NIRS data were collected from each participant. After training, individuals who have participated in BMB exercise showed a significant reduction in depressive mood compared with the same measure before the intervention. However, participants in the control group showed no such reduction. The before vs. after measurement difference in the flanker task incongruent trails was significant only for the Baduanjin intervention group. Interestingly, an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin in the left prefrontal cortex was observed during the Incongruent Trails test only after the BMB exercise intervention. These findings implicate that Baduanjin is an effective and easy-to-administering mind-body exercise for improving executive function and perhaps brain self-regulation in a young and healthy population.

Introduction: The present study sought to examine two methods by which to improve decision making on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT): inducing a negative mood and providing additional learning trials., Method: In the first study, 194 undergraduate students [74 male; M age = 19.44 (SD = 3.69)] were randomly assigned to view a series of pictures to induce a positive, negative, or neutral mood immediately prior to the IGT. In the second study, 276 undergraduate students [111 male; M age = 19.18 (SD = 2.58)] completed a delay discounting task and back-to-back administrations of the IGT., Results: Participants in an induced negative mood selected more from Deck C during the final trials than those in an induced positive mood. Providing additional learning trials resulted in better decision making: participants shifted their focus from the frequency of immediate gains/losses (i.e., a preference for Decks B and D) to long-term outcomes (i.e., a preference for Deck D). In addition, disadvantageous decision making on the additional learning trials was associated with larger delay discounting (i.e., a preference for more immediate but smaller rewards)., Conclusions: The present results indicate that decision making is affected by negative mood state, and that decision making can be improved by increasing the number of learning trials. In addition, the current results provide evidence of a relationship between performance on the IGT and on a separate measure of decision making, the delay discounting task. Moreover, the present results indicate that improved decision making on the IGT can be attributed to shifting focus toward long-term outcomes, as evidenced by increased selections from advantageous decks as well as correlations between the IGT and delay discounting task. Implications for the assessment of decision making using the IGT are discussed.