This study introduces PV-RNN, a novel variational RNN inspired by the predictivecoding ideas. The model learns to extract the probabilistic structures hidden in fluctuating temporal patterns by dynamically changing the stochasticity of its latent states. Its architecture attempts to address two major concerns of variational Bayes RNNs: how can latent variables learn meaningful representations and how can the inference model transfer future observations to the latent variables. PV-RNN does both by introducing adaptive vectors mirroring the training data, whose values can then be adapted differently during evaluation. Moreover, prediction errors during backpropagation-rather than external inputs during the forward computation-are used to convey information to the network about the external data. For testing, we introduce error regression for predicting unseen sequences as inspired by predictive coding that leverages those mechanisms. As in other Variational Bayes RNNs, our model learns by maximizing a lower bound on the marginal likelihood of the sequential data, which is composed of two terms: the negative of the expectation of prediction errors; and the negative of the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the prior and the approximate posterior distributions. The model introduces a weighting parameter, the meta-prior, to balance the optimization pressure placed on those two terms. We test the model on two datasets with probabilistic structures and show that with high values of the meta-prior the network develops deterministic chaos through which the data's randomness is imitated. For low values, the model behaves as a random process. The network performs best on intermediate values, and is able to capture the latent probabilistic structure with good generalization. Analyzing the meta-prior's impact on the network allows to precisely study the theoretical value and practical benefits of incorporating stochastic dynamics in our model. We demonstrate better prediction performance on a robot imitation task with our model using error regression compared to a standard variational Bayes model lacking such a procedure.

Academic stress is the most common emotional or mental state that students experience during their studies. Stress is a result of a wide range of issues, including test and exam burden, a demanding course, a different educational system, and thinking about future plans upon graduation. A sizeable body of literature in stress management research has found that self-regulation and being mindful will help students to cope up with the stress and dodge long-term negative consequences, such as substance abuse. The present study aims to investigate the influence of academic stress, self-regulation, and mindfulness among undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia, and to identify mindfulness as the mediator between academic stress and self-regulation. For this study, a total of 384 undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia were recruited. Using Correlational analysis, results revealed that there was a significant relationship between academic stress, self-regulation, and mindfulness. However, using SPSS mediational analysis, mindfulness did not prove the mediator role in the study.

Introduction Preeclampsia is a serious complication during pregnancy that not only influences maternal and fetal physical health, but also has maternal mental health outcomes such as anxiety. Prenatal anxiety has negative short- and long-term effects on pre- and postpartum maternal mental health, delivery, and mental health in subsequent pregnancies. Objective To investigate the effectiveness of individual psycho-educational counseling on anxiety in pregnant women with preeclampsia. Methods This was a randomized, intervention-controlled study involving two governmental hospitals in the municipality of Sirjan, Kerman, from January 30 2017 to March 31 2017. A total of 44 pregnant women with preeclampsia were assessed. The women were randomized into two groups: control (n=22) and intervention (n=22). The intervention consisted of two sessions of individual psycho-educational counseling. The level of anxiety was measured using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) as pretest before the first session and as posttest after the second session during the hospitalization period. Results There was a significant reduction in the anxiety level after the counselling sessions in the intervention group (p<0.005). In addition, there was a slight increase in the anxiety level in the control group after the study. Conclusion According to the results, psycho-educational counseling can significantly reduce the anxiety level in pregnant women with preeclampsia. Therefore, it is recommended that healthcare providers provide this type of therapeutic intervention for pregnant women after hospitalization, in order to reduce their anxiety level and its subsequent negative outcomes. Clinical trial registration: IRCT2017082029817N3.

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Introduction: Breast cancer is common among women and reduces their quality of life. The current study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction group counseling in alleviating psychological responses such as anxiety, depression, stress, and regulating laboratory tests including cortisol and C-reactive protein (CRP) in women with breast cancer. Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted based on convenience sampling. Participants were divided into 2 groups (control and intervention groups) with block randomization. The intervention group received mindfulness-based stress reduction group counseling during 8 weeks. The participants completed the Beck anxiety inventory, Beck-II depression inventory, and perceived stress scale before and after the intervention and their blood samples were taken to check their cortisol and CRP. Results: After the intervention, the MBSR group had significantly lower anxiety compared with the control group ( P < .001). No significant difference was found between the 2 groups in the reduction of perceived stress and depression ( P < .05). In addition, no significant difference was found between the 2 groups in CRP and cortisol levels after the intervention ( P > .05). Conclusion: The present study showed the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in improving anxiety rather than the stress, depression, and inflammatory laboratory factors such as cortisol and CRP in women with breast cancer. Therefore, the psychological symptoms of these patients can be improved at different stages of treatment by providing this type of training.

Mothers experience posttraumatic stress disorder with the birth of a premature neonate. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on posttraumatic stress of mothers with premature neonates in Iran. Sixty mothers with premature neonates were selected by using convenience sampling and stratified random allocation. Mindfulness-based stress reduction was trained and mean posttraumatic stress disorder was measured. Mean posttraumatic stress scores of the 2 groups were statistically significant immediately and 1 month after the intervention (independent t test, P < .05). Posttraumatic stress of both groups reduced over time, but this reduction was more significant in the intervention group (repeated-measures analysis of variance, P < .05). Concerning the positive role of mindfulness-based stress reduction in posttraumatic stress disorder of mothers, it is recommended to use this approach in care programs of mothers with premature neonates.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of tele-counseling for the mental health of staff working in hospitals and reference clinics during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: In the first stage of the study, using a convenience sampling strategy, 313 staff members working at Iran's hospitals and COVID-19 clinics answered a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Short Health Anxiety Inventory online. In a second stage, 95 staff members who were willing to participate in the intervention were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 51) or control (n = 44) groups. The intervention consisted of seven intensive tele-counseling sessions. Results: In the first stage, the percentages of anxiety and depression related to coronavirus were 79.2% and 82.1% and the mean health anxiety score was 17.42. In the intervention phase, anxiety related to coronavirus and to perceived risk of illness (likelihood of illness) were significantly lower in the intervention group in comparison with the control group (p = 0.001). Depression related to coronavirus and anxiety related to the negative consequences of infection were non-significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.08 and 0.12; respectively). Conclusion: Continuous monitoring of the negative psychological impacts on medical staff of outbreaks as well as implementation of appropriate interventions to respond to them should be emphasized in order to improve staff mental health. Clinical trial registration: Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT20170611034452N11.