Saybrook University

This empirical exploration introduces the concept of creative survival as experienced by young adult gay-identified males across three cultures. Qualitative designs including Grounded Theory, Arts-Based Research, and Heuristic Inquiry were used to analyze the narratives of 36 co-researchers, 12 each from the U.S., Brazil, and Turkey. The outcomes of the analysis highlighted how creative skills were employed to assist in the decision to disclose their sexual identity as an event and also how creativity effectively contributed to their survival across cultural norms, laws and traditions. A creative synthesis, a final process step in heuristic inquiry, offers three vignettes that demonstrate through the co-researchers’ own words how this was accomplished. This unique form of research including arts-based inquiry assists in making the research outcomes more accessible to the broader public and beyond academia. The sense of belonging through community and reflection on internal and relational mediators is emphasized and offers hope beyond merely surviving to include thriving as a gay man.

The paper entitled, Neurofeedback and Basic Learning Theory: Implications for Research and Practice, published in 2011, provided an overview of our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of operant conditioning when administering neurofeedback. Here, we expand on the basic tenets described in that paper to include learning in biofeedback, address random schedules of reinforcement, the neurochemistry of reinforcement learning, placebo effects, new theories of psychophysiological learning, and the role of the client-clinician interaction in facilitating learning success. It is intended both as a companion to the 2011 publication and as an updated reflection of our increased understanding of the learning principles that underlie these modalities.

Background: Temperature, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) are known to be hormonally influenced and fluctuate across the menstrual cycle. However, the association of sleep resting heart rate (RHR) and the nuanced thermal patterns indicative of changing progesterone levels relative to cycle type and age remains less studied. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that RHR segregates in discrete patterns in different cycle types for menstrual cycles that can be mapped by nocturnal thermal patterns. Methods: In this study, we used specific thermally-derived patterns or “Cycle Flags (CF)” and examined how these associate with sleep RHR in regular and irregular menstrual cycles. We examined 1492 de-identified, randomly-selected cycles of Ultrahuman Ring AIR users (N=1263, ages 20-50 years) between September 2024 and March 2025. Data aggregation was carried out in accordance with Ultrahuman’s privacy policy. Nocturnal skin temperatures were processed through the OvuSense algorithm to generate CFs. The mode of night RHR per cycle was categorized into typical (<60 bpm), elevated (60-75 bpm), and high RHR (>75 bpm). Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were computed for associations between cycle flags and RHR. Results: In pooled cycles, Anovulation (non-ovulatory cycle) CF was consistently associated with higher RHR. False Start (early progesterone spike without ovulation) demonstrated an inverse association with elevated RHR (OR=0.13, p<0.05). In regular-cycling younger women (20-30 y), Slow Rise (weak progesterone response) was significantly linked to elevated RHR (OR=4.97, p<0.05), while those with irregular cycles displayed a connection with typical RHR levels (OR=9.00, p<0.05). In the 30-40 y group, Fall After Ovulation (possible luteal phase insufficiency) in regular cycles (OR=2.89, p<0.05) and Anovulation in irregular cycles (OR=6.31, p<0.05) were both associated with higher RHR. In older women (40-50 y), Fall After Ovulation in regular cycles displayed a near-significant association with elevated RHR (OR=3.53, p=0.051). Conclusions: Combinatorial signatures of elevated RHR and temperature patterns have the potential to identify cycle types with fluctuating hormone levels. Age-wise analyses indicated that CFs are the most pronounced in women aged 20-40 years. Hence, longitudinal tracking via continuous-use wearables provides valuable support for cardiovascular and reproductive health awareness in real-world settings.

BackgroundThe global ageing population trend has heightened the need to understand various factors affecting geriatric well-being, including beliefs and attitudes about death. Positive perspectives about death, such as those gained from practicing maranasati (death contemplation in Buddhism), may enhance psychological resilience and prosocial behavior, key factors promoted in public mental health. Death reflection can encourage the development of the Four Immeasurable Minds (equanimity, loving-kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy), Buddhist virtues that promote public harmony and enhance well-being.ObjectiveThe current study investigated whether positive beliefs and attitudes about death influenced well-being directly or indirectly through the Four Immeasurable Minds among older Thai Buddhists, contributing to culturally informed mental health strategies.Materials and methodsData were collected from 332 older adults in Northern Thailand. The study collected information on positive beliefs and attitudes about death using the Morana Questionnaire, well-being using the WHO-5 index (Thai), and Four Immeasurable Minds using the Four Immeasurable Inventory. The data were analyzed using mediation analysis, accounting for potential confounding variables.ResultsPositive beliefs about death had a significant and positive effect on well-being, and prosocial values mediated this relationship.ConclusionThe findings suggest that positive beliefs about death can promote prosocial values and contribute to a healthy sense of well-being among Buddhist Thai older adult. Integrating culturally adapted, mindfulness-based approaches into public mental health initiatives could support healthy aging, particularly in Buddhist communities. Further research should explore scalable interventions to promote psychological resilience in diverse older populations.

Purpose: The paper discusses the intersection of financial literacy and digital asset education as an inherent determinant of the emergence of a new wave of self-made millionaires in America. As conventional means to wealth creation become ever more tenuous, especially for Millennials and Gen Z, advances in digital technology, including cryptocurrency, decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and e-business present unparalleled opportunities. The article investigates the key role played by financial literacy in empowering individuals to access these new avenues. Materials and Methods: A mixed-method research design was employed in this study. The paper employs current data published by Pew Research, Chainalysis, Fidelity, and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center. The research also employs qualitative interviews and public case profiles of investors and digital entrepreneurs. Findings: The most successful lasting success factor among the new digital millionaires is not inherited wealth or high income, but rather high financial and digital literacy levels. Case studies of individuals who have utilized cryptocurrency investing, digital enterprises, and online learning to attain prosperity prove the trend. Furthermore, this paper presents a comparative review of traditional and digital wealth creation models. Implications to Theory, Practice, and Policy: The study proposes a redefinition of financial literacy to include blockchain, tokenomics, and platform-based earnings. Practically, it summons schools, governments, and financial institutions to incorporate digital financial literacy into education and advisory services. Policy implications are public funding for Web3 education, support for digital entrepreneurship, and the decentralization of access to wealth-building.

Time-restricted eating (TRE) helps regulate rest-activity rhythms, blood glucose, and other diurnally regulated energetics processes, which may have implications for persistent fatigue. In a randomized controlled trial, we tested the effects of TRE vs. control on fatigue in cancer survivorship. Adult cancer survivors were recruited who were 2months to 2years post-treatment and reported moderate to severe fatigue. Participants were randomized 1:1, TRE:control, and all received individualized nutrition counseling. The TRE group self-selected a 10-h eating window for 12weeks. At baseline, week 6, and week 12, participants were asked to log eating instances, complete the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue questionnaire (FACIT-F, higher score = less fatigue), and wear an actigraph and continuous glucose monitor. Thirty participants completed baseline assessments and were randomized (77% female, 53% Black/African American, 43% White, 7% Hispanic; 54.1 ± 14.7years old; 87% with blood cancer); 25 completed 12-week assessments. TRE led to a meaningful reduction in fatigue at week 12 controlling for baseline levels (change in FACIT-F fatigue subscale = 0.0 ± 5.4 for control, 4.1 ± 5.7 for TRE, p = 0.11, effect size (ES) = 0.70; clinically meaningful threshold = 3.0 points). Glucose parameters (e.g., average interstitial glucose, average fasting glucose) tended to be lower, and rest-activity rhythms tended to indicate more regularity for those in the TRE vs. control group at weeks 6 and 12, though differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.19). A 12-week, nutritionist-led TRE program led to less fatigue than control. Continued study of TRE patterns are warranted to optimize this eating pattern and address persistent cancer-related fatigue. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05256888.

ABSTRACT Erik Helge Osvald Stensiö ( née Andersson, 1891–1984), the famed Swedish palaeontologist, scientist supremo, variously dominated vertebrate palaeontology in the twentieth century. He revolutionized his subject by carrying out pioneering fossil-collecting expeditions to the Arctic, inventing new ways of preparing, describing, analysing and illustrating fossil agnathans and fishes, notably Devonian placoderms and Triassic bony fishes, and promoting tetrapod studies. Stensiö, with his student Tor Ørvig, presented the innovative Lepidomorial Theory. As head of the Department of Paleozoology (now Department of Paleobiology) at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, he created the so-called Stockholm School with students and foreign researchers who took the ‘message’ back to their home countries. He was a pioneer explorer during the early 20th century, sometimes with his leading students, Gunnar Säve-Söderbergh, Erik Jarvik and Eigil Nielsen, collecting fossils in Spitsbergen, Greenland, Miguasha (Canada) and Podolia, building important collections and international connections. His legacy to science, and exploration are assessed.