The Roles of General and Domain-Specific Perceived Stress in Healthy Aging

Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests the existence of a general perceived stress factor overarching different life domains. The present study investigated the general perceived stress relative to domain-specific perceived stress as predictors of 26 diverse health outcomes, including mental and physical health, health behaviors, cognitive functioning, and physiological health indicators. A bifactor exploratory structural equational modelling approach was conducted in two samples from the Health and Retirement Study. Across the two samples, perceived stress was well-represented by a bifactor structure where there was a robust general perceived stress factor representing a general propensity towards stress perception. Meanwhile, after controlling for the general factor, specific factors representing perceived stress in different life domains were still clearly present. The general perceived stress factor was the most robust predictor of the majority of health outcomes. Age, sex, personality traits, and stressor exposure were found as possible diathesis underlying the general perceived stress factor.

Stress factor human activities

Activities of future humans can influence the safety of a closed repository. The German safety requirements for a final repository for high-level radioactive waste (EndlSiAnfV, 2020) therefore stipulate that developments induced by future human activities which may become relevant for the safety of the repository system must be taken into account when optimising the repository system and verifying its robustness. The focus here is on inadvertent human intrusion into the repository. Developments that can be induced by present human activities serve as reference developments. Dealing with future human activities is challenging. The uncertainties about anthropogenic developments taking place in the 1 million-year assessment period are overwhelming and can hardly be reduced. Moreover, knowledge about human activities in the future cannot be empirically verified, so that it becomes difficult to differentiate between knowledge and mere opinion (Grunwald, 2007, p. 57). Developments in future human activities are the subject of futures research. In the interdisciplinary experiment “Stress factor human activities”, it was therefore investigated whether findings can be derived from futurology sources that might be useful for optimising the repository system and verifying its robustness. Based on potential impacts on the sealed repository, drivers and trends, future narratives, findings and ideas from technical literature and science fiction as well as experiences in the field of radioactive waste management, 25 scenarios of future human activities that may influence the safety of a repository were derived. The spectrum of scenarios ranges from “drift into failure” in uses of the geological subsurface to attacks targeting the repository. It includes biological, chemical and physical impacts on the repository. In addition to direct impacts, those that occur slowly and possibly unnoticed are also addressed. From today's point of view, climate change and the endeavour to open up new reserves of raw materials and energy are important drivers. The distinction between intended and unintended activities is often not clear-cut. The experiment confirms that scenario development is ridden with prerequisites and is necessarily interdisciplinary. Different methodological approaches have to be combined, prerequisites and assumptions have to be clearly identified. Due to the limited time horizon of futures research, it is necessary to continually adapt and update scenarios of future human activities in the sense of a “learning process” with new findings and developments. Although many details remain speculative, scenarios provide a differentiated picture of human activities that may influence the safety of the final repository from the current perspective. Patterns are emerging that indicate how human activities could be incorporated into the optimisation of a repository and the verification of its robustness. The results of the interdisciplinary study “Stress factor human activities” therefore lead to the conclusion that futures research can contribute to optimising the long-term safety of a final repository (Eckhardt, 2021).

Brief psychotic disorder during COVID-19 infection: Marked stressor or neuropsychiatric symptoms?

Background: COVID-19 virus outbreak appeared in December 2019 and was announced as pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Recent cases of reactive psychosis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported. However, there was reduced interest attributed to cases of acute psychosis affecting patients with COVID-19. In here, we present a clinical case of a female patient who showed a brief psychotic disorder during a symptomatic infection with COVID-19. Methods: We discuss the differential diagnosis of brief psychotic disorder with marked stressor and neuropsychiatric symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Although the stress factor appeared to be linked to the acute psychosis onset in our COVID-19 positive patient, the diagnosis of a psychotic disorder due to the viral coronavirus infection is worthing to be reported and discussed. Results and Conclusion: The stress factor appears to be linked to the onset of acute psychosis in this COVID-19 positive patient, the diagnosis of a psychotic disorder due to the viral coronavirus infection is worth to be mentioned. Thus, we suggest that a new psychosis case associated with COVID-19 infection due to potential immune-mediated neuropathogenesis that would justify further investigation. Through this case report, we highlight the need for vigilant monitoring of neuropsychiatric symptoms in individuals with COVID-19 infections.

Study of the influence of negative temperatures on biomass accumulation and cell viability of callus and cell aggregates of Rhodiola rosea L.

As a result of determining the resistance to the action of different negative temperatures of callus cells and cellular aggregates of Rhodiola rosea, it was shown that after exposure of callus to -8oC, only 52% of the cells survived. In the case of exposing the experimental variant of R. rosea cell aggregates to -8oC, the value of cell viability was 68%. This suggests that the frost tolerance of cell aggregates is higher than that of callus cells, which indicates that the stress factor to be tolerated is higher, the lower the de-gree of organization of the biological system.

Влияние холодового стресса на некоторые признаки простых гибридов кукурузы

The purpose of this study was to determine the heritability of certain traits under low temperatures both at the stage of early plant development and at the haploid level, while identifying potentially stress resistant and productive hybrids. 14 simple hybrids of the first generation were used as the initial materi-al. The variability of signs of early development of plants and male gametophyte under low temperatures was evaluated. The coefficients of heritability of maternal and paternal genotypes under stressful condi-tions are calculated. A reliable dependence of the variability of the "pollen grain diameter" trait on the interaction of parental genotypes with a stress factor is shown. Hybrids Mo17xN6, Mo17xW23, A285xRf7, XL12xN6, XL12xP101 were the best in terms of the characteristics studied in the experiment.

Sleep and Covid-19: neurophysiological and biochemical issues

Functional disorders of the nervous system against the background of Covid-19 are reviewed with the emphasis on sleep and circadian clock disorders during the pandemic. The pandemic is regarded as the strong stress factor that affects sleep and the clock. A large risk group consists of elderly people and people with concomitant somatic pathology. Data on the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on other organs and systems, on the functioning of the immune system, are presented.

ФИЗИОЛОГИЯ СТРЕССОВЫХ СИТУАЦИЙ В СОРЕВНОВАТЕЛЬНОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ

The article defines the physiological parameters of stressful situations depending on the level of emotional intelligence. On the example of stress from experiences during the competitive activity of combatants, the mechanisms for assessing the level of stress influence are shown and the stages of pre-competitive training of athletes are developed, taking into account the stress factor.

Approaches towards studying the concept of coping behavior in Russian and foreign scientific research

The subject of this research is the phenomenon of coping behavior in Russian and foreign scientific research. The object of this research is the approaches towards studying the concept of coping behavior. The goal lies in the attempt to systematize the approaches towards studying the concept of coping behavior in Russian and foreign scientific research. Methodology is based on the scientific-analytical review on the topic of coping behavior in the works of Russian and foreign researchers. The novelty lies in detailed examination such aspect as the approaches towards studying the concept of coping behavior in scientific research. It is underlined that the problem of coping behavior has been studied in foreign psychology since the 1960s; however, in Russian literature it is a fairly new direction. The theoretical framework for foreign research is comprised of the existing representations on the nature of psychological defense mechanisms, cognitive strategies, and stresses. Special attention is given to explanation why some individuals a resilient to stress, while others face difficulties to overcome stressful states. The author’s contribution lies in consideration of foreign experience and representations on the nature of psychological defense mechanisms, cognitive strategies, and stresses. The article analyzes coping behavior using the concepts of psychological defense, personal determinants, problem event, style of coping, pathological processes, and stress factor. The main conclusion is as follows: initially, an individual identifies a problem event as dangerous and unstable; and then, for choosing the way of coping, assesses the impact and characteristics of stress factor, and personal traits.