Organisational belongingness mediates the relationship between sources of stress and post-trauma outcomes in fire-fighters

Previous research with emergency service workers has examined the relationship between operational and organisational stress and negative indicators of mental health, and generally found that organisational stress is more strongly related to pathology than operational stress. The current study aimed to create and test a model predicting both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) simultaneously in a sample of fire-fighters (N = 250). The results found that the model demonstrated good fit for the data. In contrast to previous research operational stress was directly related to PTSD symptoms, while organisational stress was not. Organisational stress was indirectly related to PTG, through the mediating role of organisational belongingness. This research identified organisational belongingness as a good target for psychosocial interventions aimed at promoting positive adaptation following the experience of trauma in emergency services.

Review and evaluation of mindfulness-based iPhone apps

Background There is growing evidence for the positive impact of mindfulness on wellbeing. Mindfulness-based mobile apps may have potential as an alternative delivery medium for training. While there are hundreds of such apps, there is little information on their quality. Objective This study aimed to conduct a systematic review of mindfulness-based iPhone mobile apps and to evaluate their quality using a recently-developed expert rating scale, the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). It also aimed to describe features of selected high-quality mindfulness apps. Methods A search for “mindfulness” was conducted in iTunes and Google Apps Marketplace. Apps that provided mindfulness training and education were included. Those containing only reminders, timers or guided meditation tracks were excluded. An expert rater reviewed and rated app quality using the MARS engagement, functionality, visual aesthetics, information quality and subjective quality subscales. A second rater provided MARS ratings on 30% of the apps for inter-rater reliability purposes. Results The “mindfulness” search identified 700 apps. However, 94 were duplicates, 6 were not accessible and 40 were not in English. Of the remaining 560, 23 apps met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The median MARS score was 3.2 (out of 5.0), which exceeded the minimum acceptable score (3.0). The Headspace app had the highest average score (4.0), followed by Smiling Mind (3.7), iMindfulness (3.5) and Mindfulness Daily (3.5). There was a high level of inter-rater reliability between the two MARS raters. Conclusions Though many apps claim to be mindfulness-related, most were guided meditation apps, timers, or reminders. Very few had high ratings on the MARS subscales of visual aesthetics, engagement, functionality or information quality. Little evidence is available on the efficacy of the apps in developing mindfulness.

Workplace stress and its impact analysis for strategic stress management in construction projects

Workplace stress has been an increasing concern in the construction industry. Workers are working longer hours and construction managers’ responsibilities are becoming more complex and complicated due to reduced resources and widespread stakeholder involvements. These additional pressures potentially trigger workplace stress and impact on project performance. The purpose of this study is to examine and advance understanding of stress and its impact relationships that support holistic and strategic stress management. 17 key stress sources are identified with their impact relationships on different stress types examined. Based on the research findings, this paper concludes with a Stressor-Stress-Performance relationships map.

Limited utility of exercise stress testing in the evaluation of suspected acute coronary syndrome in patients aged less than 40 years with intermediate risk features

Objective National guidelines for management of intermediate risk patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome, in whom AMI has been excluded, advocate provocative testing to final risk stratify these patients into low risk (negative testing) or high risk (positive testing suggestive of unstable angina). Adults less than 40 years have a low pretest probability of acute coronary syndrome. The utility of exercise stress testing in young adults with chest pain suspected of acute coronary syndrome who have National Heart Foundation intermediate risk features was evaluated Methods A retrospective analysis of exercise stress testing performed on patients less than 40 years was evaluated. Patients were enrolled on a chest pain pathway and had negative serial ECGs and cardiac biomarkers before exercise stress testing to rule-out acute coronary syndrome. Chart review was completed on patients with positive stress tests. Results The 3987 patients with suspected intermediate risk acute coronary syndrome underwent exercise stress testing. One thousand and twenty-seven (25.8%) were aged less than 40 years (age 33.3 ± 4.8 years). Four of these 1027 patients had a positive exercise stress test (0.4% incidence of positive exercise stress testing). Of those, three patients had subsequent non-invasive functional testing that yielded a negative result. One patient declined further investigations. Assuming this was a true positive exercise stress test, the incidence of true positive exercise stress testing would have been 0.097% (95% confidence interval: 0.079–0.115%) (one of 1027 patients). Conclusions Routine exercise stress testing has limited value in the risk stratification of adults less than 40 years with suspected intermediate risk of acute coronary syndrome

Workplace stress: What is the role of positive mental health?

Objective: To examine whether positive mental health (PMH)—a positively focused well-being construct—moderates the job stress–distress relationship. Methods: Longitudinal regression was used to test two waves of matched, population-level data from a sample of older, working Australian adults (n = 3291) to see whether PMH modified the relationship between work stress and later psychological distress. Results: Time 1 work stress was positively associated with distress at both time points. Positive mental health was negatively associated with work stress at both time points. Positive mental health modified the impact of work stress on psychological distress. This effect only occurred for those with the highest levels of PMH. Conclusions: Positive mental health may help protect workers from the effect of workplace stress but only in a small proportion of the population. Therefore, to improve workplace mental health, workplaces need to both prevent stress and promote PMH.

Atmospheric pressure gas plasma-induced colorectal cancer cell death is mediated by Nox2-ASK1 apoptosis pathways and oxidative stress is mitigated by Srx-Nrf2 anti-oxidant system

Atmospheric pressure gas plasma (AGP) generates reactive oxygen species (ROS) that induce apoptosis in cultured cancer cells. The majority of cancer cells develop a ROS-scavenging anti-oxidant system regulated by Nrf2, which confers resistance to ROS-mediated cancer cell death. Generation of ROS is involved in the AGP-induced cancer cell death of several colorectal cancer cells (Caco2, HCT116 and SW480) by activation of ASK1-mediated apoptosis signaling pathway without affecting control cells (human colonic sub-epithelial myofibroblasts; CO18, human fetal lung fibroblast; MRC5 and fetal human colon; FHC). However, the identity of an oxidase participating in AGP-induced cancer cell death is unknown. Here, we report that AGP up-regulates the expression of Nox2 (NADPH oxidase) to produce ROS. RNA interference designed to target Nox2 effectively inhibits the AGP-induced ROS production and cancer cell death. In some cases both colorectal cancer HT29 and control cells showed resistance to AGP treatment. Compared to AGP-sensitive Caco2 cells, HT29 cells show a higher basal level of the anti-oxidant system transcriptional regulator Nrf2 and its target protein sulfiredoxin (Srx) which are involved in cellular redox homeostasis. Silencing of both Nrf2 and Srx sensitized HT29 cells, leads to ROS overproduction and decreased cell viability. This indicates that in HT29 cells, Nrf2/Srx axis is a protective factor against AGP-induced oxidative stress. The inhibition of Nrf2/Srx signaling should be considered as a central target in drug-resistant colorectal cancer treatments.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis groE promoter controls the expression of the bicistronic groESL1 operon and shows differential regulation under stress conditions

Heat shock promoters of mycobacteria are strong promoters that become rapidly upregulated during macrophage infection and thus serve as valuable candidates for expressing foreign antigens in recombinant BCG vaccine. In the present study, a new heat shock promoter controlling the expression of the groESL1 operon was identified and characterized. Mycobacterium tuberculosis groESL1 operon codes for the immunodominant 10 kDa (Rv3418c, GroES/Cpn10/Hsp10) and 60 kDa (Rv3417c, GroEL1/Cpn60.1/Hsp60) heat shock proteins. The basal promoter region was 115 bp, while enhanced activity was seen only with a 277-bp fragment. No promoter element was seen in the groES-groEL1 intergenic region. This operon codes for a bicistronic mRNA transcript as determined by reverse transcriptase-PCR and Northern blot analysis. Primer extension analysis identified two transcriptional start sites (TSSs) TSS1 (-236) and TSS2 (-171), out of which one (TSS2) was heat inducible. The groE promoter was more active than the groEL2 promoter in Mycobacterium smegmatis. Further, it was found to be differentially regulated under stress conditions, while the groEL2 promoter was constitutive.

Predictors of clinical improvement in children with recurrent abdominal pain

Forty-three children with recurrent abdominal pain who had received treatment from a paediatric gastroenterology clinic were reassessed 6 and 12 months after initial presentation. Measures of children's pain included a pain diary (PD) which measured pain intensity, a parent observation record (POR) which assessed pain behaviour and a structured interview to assess the degree to which pain interferes with the child's activities. Pretreatment measures of the child's history of pain, coping strategies in dealing with pain, and their mother's caregiving strategies were examined as predictors of two indices of clinical improvement: the extent of change in pain on the child's pain diary from pre-test to 6 months follow-up, and the degree of interference to the child's activities. All children had shown significant improvement in the level of pain at follow up, with 74.4% being pain free at 12 month follow-up on the PD and 83.7% being pain free on the POR. The amount of change they showed varied, with some showing residual impairment even though they were significantly improved. Regression analyses showed that children with greatest reductions on the child's pain diary at the 6 month follow-up were those with a stress-related mode of onset, whose mothers used more adaptive caregiving strategies, and who received cognitive behavioural family intervention. There was also a non significant trend for younger children to fare better. These data suggest the importance of early diagnosis and routinely assessing parental caregiving behaviour and beliefs about the origins of pain in planning treatment for children with RAP.

Stress-state permeability relationships for clays with coarse fraction

In standard laboratory consolidation tests, only the fraction of soil passing through a particular size of the sieve, called the matrix material, is used. This size is usually restricted to 1/10 of the height of the consolidation ring. Particles larger than this size that are removed before the test may consist of gravel, fragments of rock, or other coarse materials. Hence, it is not possible to estimate the compressibility and permeability of the total material based on the compressibility and permeability behavior obtained from laboratory consolidation tests on the matrix material. In the present investigation an attempt has been made to estimate the compressibility and permeability behavior of the total material based on the compressibility and permeability behavior of the matrix material. The results indicate that the presence of coarse particles will reduce the compressibility of the soil in proportion to the coarse fraction present in the whole soil and will not affect the permeability of the soil for the range investigated. If the coarse fraction exceeds the Limiting percentage, the void ratio-vertical effective stress path will also start to deviate from the predicted path. An expression has been developed to estimate approximately the deviating pressure, and it is found to depend on the soil type as well as the percent clay fraction.

Haemodialysis work environment contributors to job satisfaction and stress: A sequential mixed methods study

Background: Haemodialysis nurses form long term relationships with patients in a technologically complex work environment. Previous studies have highlighted that haemodialysis nurses face stressors related to the nature of their work and also their work environments leading to reported high levels of burnout. Using Kanters (1997) Structural Empowerment Theory as a guiding framework, the aim of this study was to explore the factors contributing to satisfaction with the work environment, job satisfaction, job stress and burnout in haemodialysis nurses. Methods: Using a sequential mixed-methods design, the first phase involved an on-line survey comprising demographic and work characteristics, Brisbane Practice Environment Measure (B-PEM), Index of Work Satisfaction(IWS), Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The second phase involved conducting eight semi-structured interviews with data thematically analyzed. Results: From the 417 nurses surveyed the majority were female (90.9 %), aged over 41 years of age (74.3 %), and 47.4 % had worked in haemodialysis for more than 10 years. Overall the work environment was perceived positively and there was a moderate level of job satisfaction. However levels of stress and emotional exhaustion (burnout) were high. Two themes, ability to care and feeling successful as a nurse, provided clarity to the level of job satisfaction found in phase 1. While two further themes, patients as quasi-family and intense working teams, explained why working as a haemodialysis nurse was both satisfying and stressful. Conclusions: Nurse managers can use these results to identify issues being experienced by haemodialysis nurses working in the unit they are supervising.

Families of asymptotic tensile crack tip stress fields in elastic-perfectly plastic single crystals

In this work, two families of asymptotic near-tip stress fields are constructed in an elastic-ideally plastic FCC single crystal under mode I plane strain conditions. A crack is taken to lie on the (010) plane and its front is aligned along the [(1) over bar 01] direction. Finite element analysis is first used to systematically examine the stress distributions corresponding to different constraint levels. The general framework developed by Rice (Mech Mater 6:317-335, 1987) and Drugan (J Mech Phys Solids 49:2155-2176, 2001) is then adopted to generate low triaxiality solutions by introducing an elastic sector near the crack tip. The two families of stress fields are parameterized by the normalized opening stress (tau(A)(22)/tau(o)) prevailing in the plastic sector in front of the tip and by the coordinates of a point where elastic unloading commences in stress space. It is found that the angular stress variations obtained from the analytical solutions show good agreement with finite element analysis.

Early life stress, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and alcohol use disorders

Stress is a major driving force in alcohol use disorders (AUDs). It influences how much one consumes, craving intensity and whether an abstinent individual will return to harmful alcohol consumption. We are most vulnerable to the effects of stress during early development, and exposure to multiple traumatic early life events dramatically increases the risk for AUDs. However, not everyone exposed to early life stress will develop an AUD. The mechanisms determining whether an individual’s brain adapts and becomes resilient to the effects of stress or succumbs and is unable to cope with stress remain elusive. Emerging evidence suggests that neuroplastic changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) following early life stress underlie the development of AUDs. This review discusses the impact of early life stress on NAc structure and function, how these changes affect cholinergic signaling within the mesolimbic reward pathway and the role nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) play in this process. Understanding the neural pathways and mechanism determining stress resilience or susceptibility will improve our ability to identify individuals susceptible to developing AUDs, formulate cognitive interventions to prevent AUDs in susceptible individuals and to elucidate and enhance potential therapeutic targets, such as the nAChRs, for those struggling to overcome an AUD.

Influence of surface stress on elastic constants of nanohoneycombs

Surface effect on the four independent elastic constants of nanohoneycombs is investigated in this paper. The axial deformation of the horizontal cell wall is included, comparing to the Gibson's method, and the contributions of the two components of surface stress (i.e. surface residual stress and surface elasticity) are discussed. The result shows that the regular hexagonal honeycomb is not isotropic but orthotropic. An increase in the cell-wall thickness t leads to an increase in the discrepancy of the Young's moduli in both directions. Furthermore, the surface residual stress dominates the surface effect on the elastic constants when t < 15 nm (or the relative density <0.17), which is in contrast to that the surface elasticity does when t > 15 nm (or the relative density > 0.17) for metal Al. The present structure and theory may be useful in the design of future nanodevices.

Utility of magnetic resonance imaging-based finite element analysis for the biomechanical stress analysis of hemorrhagic and non-hemorrhagic carotid plaques

Background: Biomechanical stress analysis has been used for plaque vulnerability assessment. The presence of plaque hemorrhage (PH) is a feature of plaque vulnerability and is associated with thromboembolic ischemic events. The purpose of the present study was to use finite element analysis (FEA) to compare the stress profiles of hemorrhagic and non-hemorrhagic profiles. Methods and Results: Forty-five consecutive patients who had suffered a cerebrovascular ischemic event with an underlying carotid artery disease underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of their symptomatic carotid artery in a 1.5-T MRI system. Axial images were manually segmented for various plaque components and used for FEA. Maximum critical stress (M-CstressSL) for each slice was determined. Within a plaque, the maximum M-CstressSL for each slice of a plaque was selected to represent the maximum critical stress of that plaque (M-CstressPL) and used to compare hemorrhagic and non-hemorrhagic plaques. A total of 62% of plaques had hemorrhage. It was observed that plaques with hemorrhage had significantly higher stress (M-CstressPL) than plaques without PH (median [interquartile range]: 315 kPa [247-434] vs. 200 kPa [171-282], P=0.003). Conclusions: Hemorrhagic plaques have higher biomechanical stresses than non-hemorrhagic plaques. MRI-based FEA seems to have the potential to assess plaque vulnerability.