High Frustration Research Articles

Molecular interactions between C9ORF72 and SMCR8: A local energetic frustration perspective

The hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 represents a major cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). C9orf72, together with SMCR8 and WDR41, can form a stable complex that regulates autophagy and membrane trafficking. Very recently, the cryo-EM structure of C9orf72-SMCR8-WDR41 helps in understanding the structure-function relationship of C9orf72. This protein complex is indispensable to several cellular processes and is strongly linked to familial ALS and FTD. Understanding the molecular basis of the C9orf72-SMCR8 protein-protein interaction is thus important to comprehend their function. To establish a basis for understanding the relationships between sequence, structure, and function of the C9orf72, this study reports a local frustration analysis on the C9orf72-SMCR8 complex structure. An analysis of local frustration profiles indicated that (1) the structural domains in C9orf72 are minimally-frustrated and relatively conserved, (2) high frustration patches on the protein-protein interface (3) increased frustration in the C-terminal helices involved in the dimerization of C9orf72 structures.

A Study to assess the Correlation between Frustration and Family climate among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam

A study to assess the correlation between frustration and family climate among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam. The objectives of the study were to: a) assess the frustration among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam. b) assess the family climate among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam. c) find out the association between frustration and selected demographic variables among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam. d) find out the association between family climate and selected demographic variables among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam. e) assess the correlation between frustration and family climate among undergraduate students of selected colleges at Kollam. A quantitative research approach was adopted. Sampling technique adopted was convenient sampling. Sample size was 100. The investigators assessed undergraduate college students using questionnaires on frustration and family climate. The study showed that 23% of students had high frustration, 46% had moderate frustration and 31% had low frustration. 29% of students had unfavorable family climate 52% had moderate family climate and 19% favorable family climate. There was no association found between frustration and selected demographic variables. But an association was found between family climate and selected demographic variables such as age, type of family and type of residence. There was no association found between family climate and selected demographic variables such as sex, education of parent, occupation of parent, monthly income of parent and type of course. The value of r was -0.09. So, there was a slight negative correlation between frustration and family climate. The relationship between the two variables is weak. That is when family climate become favorable frustration decreases and vice versa.

Psychologists’ perspectives on providing psychological care for refugees in Brazil

ABSTRACT To gain insights into psychologists’ experience of working with refugees in Brazil, semi-structured interviews with 14 psychologists were conducted and analysed using thematic analysis. Results showed that participants experienced operating in a novel, precarious and xenophobic context, which led them to move beyond classical psychological work, engage in practical assistance and become very close to clients. Psychologists reported lack of public structures, insufficient competencies and high levels of fatigue. At the same time, they described gaining new perspectives and benefiting from witnessing their clients’ resilience. In terms of facilitators for the work with refugees, participants pointed to the importance of psychologists being flexible, authentic, of showing a high frustration tolerance and of making use of group-based approaches. Participants suggested that, in order to better refugees’ mental health in Brazil, efforts should focus on adopting a more social perspective in psychology, developing anti-discrimination campaigns, building policies for refugee’ inclusion and scaling up investments in mental healthcare in general. Suggestions for future research are made, as well as for psychologists who work with refugees, such as fostering a more collectivity-focused and contextual understanding of mental health.

Basic Psychological Need Profiles and Correlates in Physical Activity Participation: A Person-Centered Approach.

Guided by Basic Psychological Need Theory, we investigated the combined associations between need satisfaction and need frustration (i.e., need profiles) and their relations with theoretically relevant correlates including mindfulness, physical literacy, physical activity enjoyment, and physical activity. The participants were Singapore-based school students (N = 844, Mage = 12.45, SDage = 1.99, boys = 53.1%) who completed a cross-sectional survey. The results of the latent profile analysis identified four distinct need profiles: profile 1–average satisfaction and frustration (n = 364, 44.1%); profile 2–low satisfaction (n = 251, 29.7%), above average frustration; profile 3–very high satisfaction, very low frustration (n = 144, 17.1%); and profile 4–high satisfaction, very high frustration (n = 85, 10.1%). Among these, profile 3 was the most adaptive one; it had the highest levels of mindfulness, physical literacy, physical activity enjoyment, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Experiences of need satisfaction countered the negative effects of need frustration on these correlates. These findings enhance our understanding of students’ psychological need experiences and highlight the need for investigating the combined associations between need satisfaction and need frustration.

Proximate Quantum Spin Liquid on Designer Lattice.

Complementary to bulk synthesis, here we propose a designer lattice with extremely high magnetic frustration and demonstrate the possible realization of a quantum spin liquid state from both experiments and theoretical calculations. In an ultrathin (111) CoCr2O4 slice composed of three triangular and one kagome cation planes, the absence of a spin ordering or freezing transition is demonstrated down to 0.03 K, in the presence of strong antiferromagnetic correlations in the energy scale of 30 K between Co and Cr sublattices, leading to the frustration factor of ∼1000. Persisting spin fluctuations are observed at low temperatures via low-energy muon spin relaxation. Our calculations further demonstrate the emergence of highly degenerate magnetic ground states at the 0 K limit, due to the competition among multiply altered exchange interactions. These results collectively indicate the realization of a proximate quantum spin liquid state on the synthetic lattice.

THE SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF YOUTH’S SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR

The article highlights the current view on social and psychological determinants of youth’s suicidal behaviour. The modern science still does not have a unified point of view on suicidal behaviour. The corresponding terminology is amorphousness and its concept is uncertain. It is generally accepted that suicidal behaviour depends on many factors, has different motives and goals and exists in certain and extreme conditions. The authors present their own model of suicidal behaviour that includes the following main factors leading to suicidal behaviour: social and psychological maladaptation, deviant behaviour and unresolved intrapersonal conflicts. We have identified four groups of factors affecting young people’s social and psychological maladaptation: General psychological features of a suicider having non-pathological situational intentions, as well as people having borderline states; Personal factors; Family factors; Other life factors: a changed place of residence, study or work; negative influence of mass-media, modern literature, Internet sites with certain content, etc. A set of standardized and tested methods was selected to examine social-psychological factors of young people’s pre-suicidal and suicidal behaviour: 3 methods studying susceptibility to suicidal reactions, suicidal behaviour and the diagnosis of suicidal behaviour before its manifestation. The sample consisted of 120 young people (89 girls and 31 boys). Their families were also taken into account: 89 respondents had both parents, 31 had only one of parents. The sample was divided into three groups for comparative analysis of suicidal behaviour. The division criterion of was the suicide indicator from the Suicide Behaviour Questionnaire that was compared with the results of the Suicide Risk Test (SR-45, P.I. Yunatskevich) and the method determining propensity to suicidal behaviour (M.V. Gorskaya). The statistical methods were used to process the obtained data: Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to analyze relations between individual psychological characteristics with suicidal behaviour; a multiple regression analysis was performed for data grouping; statistical significance was checked by the F-Fisher test. The performed empirical study has revealed that suicidal behaviour can appear because of deteriorated personal psychological health - anxiety, frustration, aggression and changes in attitudes toward life and death under environmental influences or because of overestimated self-concept. The respondents having suicidal intentions were characterized by severe anxiety and high frustration as the consequences of personal disappointment, inability to overcome real or imagined obstacles preventing goal achievement. Aggression was almost the same for all three examined groups, thus this indicator showed rather increased psychological activity. The highest rigidity was observed at the respondents having suicidal intentions; such rigidity was associated with complications existing during implementation of significant activities.

Designing frustration in two-dimensional magnetic systems via the application of uniaxial strain

First principles are used and combined with Monte Carlo simulations to predict that the application of compressive uniaxial strains in two-dimensional $\mathrm{CrGe}{\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ can tune the underlying magnetic parameters in such a way that the system undergoes a phase transition from ferromagnetic (FM) to antiferromagnetic (AFM) phases, with the border between these being a region of high frustration. Such latter region can be the playground for fine-tuning the system to exhibit exotic states. Moreover, we also show and explain that such uniaxial strains also dramatically tune the critical temperatures, namely N\'eel temperatures for the AFM phase and Curie temperatures for the FM phase, which is of obvious technological and fundamental significance.

Sickness and sleep health predict frustration and affective responses to a frustrating trigger

Fluctuations in health and sleep are common, but we know surprisingly little about how these daily life stressors affect one's level of frustration and sensitivity to becoming frustrated. In this pre-registered study, 517 participants (Mage = 30.4, SD = 10.4) reported their current sickness symptoms, health status, sleepiness, and sleep duration and quality the previous night. They also rated their general frustration and mood before and after a mild frustration-eliciting task. In the task, participants were instructed to copy geometric shapes onto a piece of paper, without lifting the pen from the paper. Participants were given three minutes to copy the eight shapes, but in order to induce frustration half of them were unsolvable. The study was subsequently repeated in an independent sample (N = 113). Frustration increased in response to the task; however, those with the worst sickness symptoms or sleep health reduced or did not change their frustration levels. Instead, across both studies, frustration was already high at baseline for these individuals. These findings indicate that being sick or having poor sleep is related to high general frustration, but resilience to further frustration due to mild frustrating situations.

The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on a Sample of Young People in Arab Society

Objective: The present study aimed to (1) determine the effect of COVID-19 on the psychological status of a sample of Arab population that might be presented in terms of fear, anxiety, depression, and loneliness (2) examine disease association with demographic variables; and (3) to explore the contribution of fear of covid-19 for prediction of the depression and anxiety among the study sample. Methodology: The study included a sample of 303 individuals, 115(38%) of them were males and 188(62%) were females. The researchers developed a questionnaire to explore the various types of psychological problems experienced by those individuals, included 15 psychological problems (α= 0.92). Results and statistical analysis: Data were analyzed using Descriptive statistics and bootstrap T, r, and simple regression. In total,72% of respondents reported moderate to high fear of covid-19, 52.2% reported moderate to high psychological stresses, 54.1% reported moderate to high boredom and distress, 39.6% moderate to high frustration, and 49.6% moderate to high loneliness, 83.5% reported moderate to high family anxiety. Study revealed that there was significant differences between males and females on the majority of psychological problems. In females, the majority of problems; were negative correlations between age and fear of COVID-19, which contributed to the prediction of depression and anxiety. Conclusion: The findings would need to be verified in large and different populations in Arab society. Funding Statement: None to declare.Declaration of Interests: None to declare.Ethics Approval Statement: The authors have obtained Faculty Ethical Approval for conducting the current research project from the Faculty of Education, Al-Suez Canal University, Egypt.

Sequence-structure-function relationships in class I MHC: A local frustration perspective.

Class I Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) binds short antigenic peptides with the help of Peptide Loading Complex (PLC), and presents them to T-cell Receptors (TCRs) of cytotoxic T-cells and Killer-cell Immunglobulin-like Receptors (KIRs) of Natural Killer (NK) cells. With more than 10000 alleles, human MHC (Human Leukocyte Antigen, HLA) is the most polymorphic protein in humans. This allelic diversity provides a wide coverage of peptide sequence space, yet does not affect the three-dimensional structure of the complex. Moreover, TCRs mostly interact with HLA in a common diagonal binding mode, and KIR-HLA interaction is allele-dependent. With the aim of establishing a framework for understanding the relationships between polymorphism (sequence), structure (conserved fold) and function (protein interactions) of the human MHC, we performed here a local frustration analysis on pMHC homology models covering 1436 HLA I alleles. An analysis of local frustration profiles indicated that (1) variations in MHC fold are unlikely due to minimally-frustrated and relatively conserved residues within the HLA peptide-binding groove, (2) high frustration patches on HLA helices are either involved in or near interaction sites of MHC with the TCR, KIR, or tapasin of the PLC, and (3) peptide ligands mainly stabilize the F-pocket of HLA binding groove.

Reentrant spin-glass behaviour in highly frustrated Mn-rich spinel zinc manganate

The present work offers an insight into the magnetic properties of Mn-rich spinel zinc manganate. Rietveld refinement reveals the formation of Zn0.67Mn2.33O4, where Zn2+ and Mn2+ ions are randomly distributed in the tetrahedral sublattice. DC and AC susceptibility measurement of Zn0.67Mn2.33O4 infers the occurrence of two kinds of transition below 11 K. Paramagnetic to ferrimagnetic transition occur at 10.7 K and ferrimagnetic to spin glass-like transition occurs at 5.8 K. The long-range canted ferrimagnetic ordering is corroborated using modified Lotgering model and calculated the exchange interaction values (JAA = 5.2 K,JAB = 5.3 K, JBB = 14.8 K). Further, the observed shift in freezing temperature with DC magnetic field obeys Almeida–Thouless behaviour and frequency dependence of AC susceptibility follows Vogel–Fulcher law. However, the complete establishment of the canonical spin glass state is denied since the manganese ions occupied at the tetrahedral site is equal to the percolation threshold (=33%). Subsequently, the observed spin glass-like behaviour (5.8 K) below Curie temperature (10.7 K) evidences the reentrant spin glass nature. Similarly, the strong frustration in Zn0.67Mn2.33O4 lattice is observed through the substantial negative value of Curie–Weiss temperature (∼−599 K) and very high frustration factor (f = 56). Overall, the chosen Zn0.67Mn2.33O4 is a highly frustrated magnetic system revealing re-entrant spin-glass behaviour.

Physical Properties of a Frustrated Quasi-One-Dimensional NaCuFe2(VO4)3 Magnet and Effect of Chemical Pressure Induced by the Substitution of Sodium for Lithium

The structural, thermal, static magnetic, and resonance properties of the low-dimensional NaCuFe2(VO4)3 compound obtained by the solid-phase synthesis have been investigated. In the temperature range of 110–300 K, the electron spin resonance in the X band with a g factor of 2.008 has been detected. The magnetic properties of a sample with a high frustration level in the paramagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and disordered states have been examined. A shift of the Neel temperature to the high-temperature region in an external magnetic field has been observed. The origin of the disordered magnetism in NaCuFe2(VO4)3 are discussed. The features of substitution of sodium for lithium on the physical properties of the ACuFe2(VO4)3 (A = Na, Li) system have been established. It is shown that the chemical pressure changes the crystal lattice parameters, spacings between magnetic ions, and crystallite size, which is reflected in the physical properties of the material.

Global Thermodynamic Properties of Complex Spin Systems Calculated from Density of States and Indirectly by Thermodynamic Integration Method

Evaluation of global thermodynamic properties such as the entropy or the free energy of complex systems featuring a high degree of frustration or disorder is often desirable. Nevertheless, they cannot be measured directly in standard Monte Carlo simulation. Therefore, they are either evaluated indirectly from the directly measured quantities, for example by the thermodynamic integration method (TIM), or by applying more sophisticated simulation methods, such as the Wang-Landau (WL) algorithm, which can directly sample density of states. In the present investigation we compare the performance of the WL and TIM methods for the calculation of the entropy of an Ising antiferromagnetic system on a Kagome lattice – a typical example of a complex spin system with high geometrical frustration resulting in a non-zero residual entropy the value of which is exactly known. It is found that the easier to implement TIM can yield results of comparable accuracy with that of the more involved WL method.

Self-determined motivation and academic buoyancy as predictors of achievement in normative settings.

Academic buoyancy (Martin & Marsh, 2006, Oxford Review of Education, 35, 353; 2008, Journal of School Psychology, 46, 53) is students' competence to respond effectively to academic daily setbacks and is considered an optimal characteristic of students' functioning related to achievement. From the self-determination theory perspective (Ryan & Deci, 2017, American Psychologist, 55, 68), satisfaction of the need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and autonomous forms of motivation relate to students' optimal functioning in schooling. We investigated (1) whether students' end-of-course (T2) academic buoyancy in the normative environment of English preparatory programmes (EPP) is predicted by their beginning-of-course (T1) need satisfaction or frustration and autonomous or controlled motivation (i.e., high or low self-determined motivation), and (2) whether students' T2 academic buoyancy mediates the relation between students' T1 self-determined motivation and final (T3) academic achievement. In T1 and T2, 267 students (Mage =19.11, SD=1.28) attending three EPPs in Ankara, Turkey, participated in the study. A prospective design was used, data were collected through self-reports, and SEM was conducted to test the hypotheses. Students' T1 need frustration negatively predicted T1 autonomous motivation and positively predicted T1 controlled motivation, which (respectively) positively and negatively predicted T2 academic buoyancy. T1 need satisfaction related positively to T2 academic buoyancy. Finally, T2 academic buoyancy mediated the relation between students' need satisfaction and final achievement while controlled motivation was also negatively related to final achievement. Students' high need satisfaction and low need frustration as well as high autonomous and low controlled motivation could support students' buoyancy and achievement in the normative settings of EPP.

Large off-diagonal exchange couplings and spin liquid states in C3 -symmetric iridates

Iridate oxides on a honeycomb lattice are considered promising candidates for realization of quantum spin liquid states. We investigate the magnetic couplings in a structural model for a honeycomb iridate K$_2$IrO$_3$, with $C_3$ point group symmetry at the Ir sites, which is an end member of the recently synthesized iridate family K$_x$Ir$_y$O$_2$. Using \textit{ab-initio} quantum chemical methods, we elucidate the subtle relationship between the real space symmetry and magnetic anisotropy and show that the higher point group symmetry leads to high frustration with strong magnetic anisotropy driven by the unusually large off-diagonal exchange couplings ($\Gamma$'s) as opposed to other spin-liquid candidates considered so far. Consequently, large quantum fluctuations imply lack of magnetic ordering consistent with the experiments. Exact diagonalization calculations for the fully anisotropic $K$-$J$-$\Gamma$ Hamiltonian reveal the importance of the off-diagonal anisotropic exchange couplings in stabilizing a spin liquid state and highlight an alternative route to stabilize spin liquid states for ferromagnetic $K$.

СОЦІАЛЬНО-ПСИХОЛОГІЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ДЕВІАНТНОЇ ПОВЕДІНКИ ПІДЛІТКІВ

У статті проаналізовано соціально-психологічні особливості девіантної поведінки підлітків. Визначено, що на фоні кризових явищ суспільства, спостерігається загострення форм прояву під­літкових девіацій. Емпірично з’ясовано особливості прояву девіантної поведінки підлітків. Найбільш характерними серед яких є наступні: підвищена тривожність, висока фрустрованість, відсутність моральної саморегуляції, негативні взаємини з батьками. Емпіричний зріз довів необхідність впрова­дження психокорекційної програми соціально-психологічного супроводу підлітків як протидії психо­логічному насиллю, деструктивним формам поведінки в підлітковому середовищі.

Self-concept development of children in institutional care, alternative care types and biological family homes: Testing differential susceptibility

The first aim of the study was to examine the differences in self-concept development of children residing in institutions, care villages, group homes, foster care, or with biological families (low socioeconomic status [SES] and middle SES). The second aim was to investigate children’s susceptibility to these environmental variations from a differential susceptibility theory perspective tested by temperamental characteristics. Self-concept in three to five-year-old children was assessed using puppet interviews and parent/caregiver questionnaires. The results indicated that parent/caregiver reported self-concept scores for children residing in institutions significantly differed from that of the foster care and biological family groups. Care village group differed from both biological family groups, and group home differed from the middle-SES family group. Furthermore, the temperamental characteristics of children played a moderator role between care types and self-development. High perceptual sensitivity and high frustration levels were found as a protective factor for children in institutions compared to children in group homes, foster care, and family groups.

A Reduction in Pain Intensity Is More Strongly Associated With Improved Physical Functioning in Frustration Tolerant Individuals: A Longitudinal Moderation Study in Chronic Pain Patients.

ObjectiveThe onset and chronification of pain often has devastating consequences on the physical and mental functioning of individuals. Medical interventions are quite efficacious in reducing pain levels. However, changes in physical and mental health status after medical interventions are not proportional. In the past decades, rational/irrational beliefs, especially catastrophizing, have contributed to a better understanding of the pain experience. This study explores whether pain reduction efforts are more beneficial for individuals scoring high in rational thinking (moderation).MethodsThe study design was longitudinal. Patients were assessed twice, 2 weeks prior to the start of medical treatment at the pain clinic and 6 months after. A total of 163 patients with heterogeneous pain (mostly low back and neck pain) participated in the study. Their mean age was 58.74 years (SD = 14.28) and 61.3% were female.ResultsOverall, there was a reduction in pain intensity (t = 4.25, p < 0.001, d = 0.32). An improvement in physical functioning (t = 4.02, p < 0.001, d = 0.19), but not mental health (t = -0.66, p = 0.511, d = 0.11) was also observed. In the regression analyses, a decrease in pain intensity was moderately associated with improved physical health (β = 0.87, t = 4.96, p < 0.001, R2 change = 0.177). This association was found to be moderated by frustration tolerance (β = -0.49, t = -2.80, p = 0.006, R2 change = 0.039). Specifically, post hoc analyses indicated that changes in pain intensity only correlated with changes in physical health when patients reported high frustration tolerance levels (r = 0.47, p = 0.006, M = 7, n = 32), but not when patients were intolerant to frustration (r = 0.28, p = 0.078, M = 17, n = 41).ConclusionThe results suggest that frustration tolerance may render adaptive by facilitating the positive effect that a reduction in pain intensity has on physical health status. The study findings are discussed in the context of personalized therapy with an emphasis on how to maximize the effectiveness of current interventions for pain.

A mixed-methods evaluation framework for electronic health records usability studies.

Poor EHR design adds further challenges, especially in the areas of order entry and information visualization, with a net effect of increased rates of incidents, accidents, and mortality in ICU settings. The purpose of this study was to propose a novel, mixed-methods framework to understand EHR-related information overload by identifying and characterizing areas of suboptimal usability and clinician frustration within a vendor-based, provider-facing EHR interface. A mixed-methods, live observational usability study was conducted at a single, large, tertiary academic medical center in the Southeastern US utilizing a commercial, vendor based EHR. Physicians were asked to complete usability patient cases, provide responses to three surveys, and participant in a semi-structured interview. Of the 25 enrolled ICU physician participants, there were 5(20%) attending physicians, 9 (36%) fellows, and 11 (44%) residents; 52% of participants were females. On average, residents were the quickest in completing the tasks while attending physician took the longest to complete the same task. Poor usability, complex interface screens, and difficulty to navigate the EHR significantly correlated with high frustration levels. Significant association were found between the occurrence of error messages and temporal demand such that more error messages resulted in longer completion time (p = .03). Physicians remain frustrated with the EHR due to difficulty in finding patient information. EHR usability remains a critical challenge in healthcare, with implications for medical errors, patient safety, and clinician burnout. There is a need for scientific findings on current information needs and ways to improve EHR-related information overload.

Sites of high local frustration in DNA origami

The self-assembly of a DNA origami structure, although mostly feasible, represents indeed a rather complex folding problem. Entropy-driven folding and nucleation seeds formation may provide possible solutions; however, until now, a unified view of the energetic factors in play is missing. Here, by analyzing the self-assembly of origami domains with identical structure but different nucleobase composition, in function of variable design and experimental parameters, we identify the role played by sequence-dependent forces at the edges of the structure, where topological constraint is higher. Our data show that the degree of mechanical stress experienced by these regions during initial folding reshapes the energy landscape profile, defining the ratio between two possible global conformations. We thus propose a dynamic model of DNA origami assembly that relies on the capability of the system to escape high structural frustration at nucleation sites, eventually resulting in the emergence of a more favorable but previously hidden state.