Medium Stress Levels Research Articles

Nurses' strategies for coping with stress in the face of the influx of war refugees from Ukraine to Poland.

Russian military's incursion into Ukraine sparked the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. As Ukraine's neighboring country, Poland became the primary destination for these refugees. Ukrainians staying in Poland under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive receive humanitarian support similarly to asylum seekers, but the legal pathways, length of stay and integration processes differ significantly as the Directive provides for more immediate, collective protection without the complexity of individual asylum applications. The influx of war refugees generates extremely complex situations that health personnel, especially nurses, must face on a daily basis. Identify whether and to what extent the emergence of a large number of patients with war-related experiences constituted a source of stress for nurses, and how Polish nurses coped with this issue. A cross-sectional study was conducted in December 2022 in Białystok, Poland. It included 473 certified nurses working in hospitals affiliated with the District Chamber of Nurses in Białystok. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) questionnaire and Mini-COPE inventory (Polish version of Carver'a BriefCOPE inventory were used in the study. The average stress level among nurses was moderate, with nearly equal proportions of nurses experiencing low, medium, and high stress levels. Nurses who had contact with refugees in the last six months and/or helped them, did not present an increased level of stress - on the contrary, this level was lower. Nurses who helped refugees at work more often used a planning strategy in stressful situations, and less frequently reacted to stress using humour, religion, denial or venting. The greater workload and more frequent contacts between Polish nurses and Ukrainian war refugees were a factor increasing work fatigue, but, paradoxically, at the same time reducing the level of stress in a situation giving the feeling of a duty well fulfilled. Empowering nurses through greater autonomy and fostering supportive work environments, especially in crisis situations like the care of war refugees has a positive impact on coping with stress.

Development and Evaluation of an Out-of-Control Scale Measuring Global Contextual Stressors Across 20 Countries and Regions

Abstract: Stressful contexts like the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated remarkable socio-economic changes, exacerbating universal uncertainty and a pervasive loss of control. Improving mental health outcomes on the operational definition and measurement of related concepts. This study analyzed cross-sectional data from 20 countries and regions, collected between January 25 and November 10, 2021. Psychometric evaluation occurred in two stages: initially, item review and factor analysis with a 2,749 adult sample from Mainland of China and Hong Kong SAR; subsequently, confirmation of factor structure, measurement invariance testing, and advanced analyses with a 4,000 adult sample from 20 countries and regions. A six-item, single-factor structure was verified, confirming satisfactory factor loading, fit indices and consistency. Measurement invariance across geographies and groupings was also confirmed. Three Out-of-Control profiles representing low, medium, and high stress levels, were identified, with age, depression/anxiety symptoms, education, socio-economic status, and exposure to COVID-19-affected acquaintances significantly influencing affiliation. The item “I think I cannot control things that I previously could” was the most critical node. This newly validated scale represents a substantial advancement in measuring stress within the context of global health crises, thus enhancing comprehension of psychological responses. Continual evaluation of the scale’s effectiveness and accuracy is crucial.

The Coefficient of Earth Pressure at Rest K0 of Sands up to Very High Stresses

The mechanical behaviour of soils subjected to any stress path in which deviatoric stresses are present is heavily characterised by non-linearity, irreversibility and is strongly dependent on the initial state of stress. The latter, for the majority of geotechnical applications, is normally determined by the at-rest earth pressure coefficient K0, even though this state is valid, strictly speaking, for axisymmetric conditions and for zero-lateral deformations only. Many expressions are available in the literature for the determination of this coefficient for cohesive and granular materials both for normal consolidated and over-consolidated conditions. These relations are available for low to medium stress levels. Results of an extensive experimental investigation on two sands of different mineralogy up to very high stress (120 MPa) are reported in the paper. For reach very high vertical stresses, a special oedometer has been realised. In the loading phase (normal consolidated sands), the coefficient K0n depends on the stress level. It passes from values of about 0.8 to values of about 0.45 in the range of effective vertical stress σ′v = 0.5–4 MPa. Subsequently, K0n is about constant and varies between 0.45 to 0.55 up to very high vertical effective stresses (120 MPa). For the sands employed in the tests, Jaki’s relation did not lead to reliable results at relatively low pressures, while at high pressures, the same relationship seems to lead to reliable predictions if it refers to the constant volume angle of shear strength. For the over-consolidated sands, K0C strongly depends on the OCR, and for very high values of OCR, K0C could be greater than Rankine’s passive coefficient of earth pressure, Kp. This result is due to the very locked structure of the sands caused by the grain crushing, with intergranular contact of sutured and sigmoidal, concavo-convex and inter-penetrating type, that confer to the sand a sort of apparent cohesion and make it similar to weak sandstone.

Correlation of learning engagement and social support affecting the academic stress of Thai high school students

<p>High school students face an elevated risk of psychological problems, with multiple determinants contributing to this vulnerability. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between academic stress, social support, and learning engagement among Thai high school students. A total of 109 high school students were recruited from one school located in Bangkok, Thailand. The academic stress, social support questionnaires, and learning engagement questionnaires were completed and analyzed for the correlation using Pearson’s and Spearman’s analysis. Multiple linear regression was done to determine variables influencing on academic stress. Medium level of academic stress was found (mean±SD=3.21±0.73). Academic stress was significantly correlated with social support (r=0.252, p<0.01) in a positive direction; however, the negative correlation with learning engagement did not reach statistical significance (rho=-0.108, p>0.05). Positive influence on academic stress was also found in social support (B=0.119, p<0.007), but not the learning engagement (B=-0.089, p=0.393). Thai high school students had medium level of academic stress, which correlated with and be positively influenced by social support. Our findings emphasize the importance of appropriate social support system to reduce stress and promote well-being among Thai high school students.</p>

Exploring physical and mechanical properties of hydrothermally processed recycled non-sintered dental zirconia wastes

Background and aimThe present investigation explored the potential for recycling residual blocks obtained from the machining processes under hydrothermal conditions. Furthermore, the study examined the recycled samples’ various physical and mechanical properties to assess their viability for further use. Materials and methodsIn this in vitro study, Aman Girbach blocks were collected, half of which underwent a hydrothermal process, while the other half did not. The blocks were then subjected to ball milling. Uniaxial and isostatic pressed blocks were prepared, and 10 samples were obtained from each type of recycled block. These samples were compared to a commercial material, and four groups were formed based on the powder type and pressing method used. The quality control analysis of the recycled samples included assessing particle size distribution, identifying crystalline phases, analyzing color differences, examining microstructure, and evaluating mechanical properties. Statistical tests such as normal distribution calculations (k-s test), one-way ANOVA, Brown-Forsythe, Tukey HSD, and Games-Howell tests were used to compare the four groups and perform pairwise comparisons. ResultsThe flexural strength and density of the control commercial group were significantly higher than the other experimental groups (P = 0.000). Linear shrinkage of recycled isostatic pressed experimental bodies was significantly lower than that of others (P = 0.000). Qualitative evaluation of microstructure and crystalline phase by FESEM and XRD showed no significant difference in grain size and crystalline phase between different groups. ConclusionThe hydrothermal process is a promising way to recycle zirconia ceramic with lower energy consumption. Recycled waste demonstrates potential as a cost-effective and viable option for ceramic prostheses in situations with low to medium stress levels.

Creep Failure Characteristics and Mathematical Modeling of High-Density Polyethylene Geomembranes under High Stress Levels.

To explore the creep characteristics of geomembrane under different tensile stresses, a series of creep tests were carried out on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane specimens. For the interpretation and fitting of the experimental data, refined approximation functions were proposed. Particular attention was paid to the creep failure behavior under high tensile stresses, i.e., 70%, 80%, and 90% of maximum peak stress. To investigate the effects of size on the mechanical response, experiments with two different membrane thicknesses were conducted. The results obtained under high stress levels were compared with creep tests at medium and low stress levels. Depending on load level, different creep characteristics can be distinguished. In the secondary creep state, the creep velocity is higher for higher load levels. In contrast to the medium and low load levels, the geomembrane under high stresses underwent the tertiary creep stage after instantaneous deformation and primary and secondary creep stages. In some tests, it was observed that under very high stress levels, creep velocity does not necessarily follow the expected trend and creep rupture can occur within a short time. For numerical simulation, an improved mathematical model was proposed to reproduce in a unified manner the experimental data of the whole non-linear evolution of creep elongation under different stress levels.

Work stress and professional performance in health personnel in the Gynecology and Obstetrics area of a Peruvian Hospital in 2023

Objective: To describe the relationship between work stress and professional performance in the Gynecology and Obstetrics service at the Sergio Bernales Hospital during the year 2023. Methods: Quantitative, observational, prospective and cross-sectional study. The study participants were health personnel working in the Gynecology and Obstetrics service of the Sergio E. Bernales National Hospital. Results: Health personnel have a medium level of work-related stress (45.4%), followed by 29.3% with a high level and 25.3% with a low level of work-related stress. Resident physicians (18; 100%) and obstetricians (26; 46.2%) predominantly showed a medium level of work-related stress. Medium and high levels of stress were associated with a good level of performance (26 people; 45.6%) and 15 interviewees (26.3%), respectively, and very good performance: 18 people (56.3%) and 13 (40.6%). Conclusions: It should be noted that 57,6% of the personnel have a good professional performance, with obstetricians being the majority in this group. It was observed that medium and high levels of work stress predominated among health personnel; however, a medium level of professional performance was found. The findings reveal that the majority of respondents managed to maintain good professional performance despite experiencing medium or high levels of job stress, suggesting the complexity of the relationship between stress and job performance in this health care setting.

Effect of heat treatment on fatigue life improvement of Mg-Gd-Zn-Zr alloy

This work investigated the fatigue behaviors of Mg96.32Gd2.5Zn1Zr0.18 alloy under both solution and aging conditions. The main microstructural difference between the two conditions is characterized by the dense β′ nano-precipitates under aging condition. The fatigue strengths are comparable under both conditions, whereas the fatigue lives at medium stress levels tend to be improved apparently under aging condition. The improved fatigue lives under aging condition are attributed to the dense β′ nano-precipitates, which delay the processes of crack initiation and early propagation. Under solution condition, fatigue damage exhibits a continuous pattern along the damage bands. However, under aging condition, fatigue damage shows a scattered pattern along the damage bands due to the pinning effect of β′ nano-precipitates and their inhomogeneous distribution.

On the divergent effects of stress on the self-organizing nanostructure due to spinodal decomposition in duplex stainless steel

Duplex stainless steels suffer from serious embrittlement due to the self-organization of the nanostructure caused by phase separation (PS) in ferrite. As duplex stainless steel (DSS) components are often subjected to stress during service, the effect of elastic tensile stress (ETS) on phase separation (PS) in alloy 2507 has been investigated in this study. The alloy was aged at 400 and 450 °C for different times under an applied ETS. The nanostructure evolution and mechanical properties were analyzed using small-angle neutron scattering and analytical transmission electron microscopy as well as Vickers-hardness and nanoindentation measurements. The results show that the applied ETS can suppress spinodal decomposition (SD) in ferrite in DSS 2507, which may be due to that ETS increases the critical compositional fluctuation wavelength for SD and thus increases the diffusion distance and barrier to the occurrence of SD. The suppressive effect is more obvious at longer aging time for the same level of applied stresses. It is also indicated that the suppressive effect of ETS seems to change non-monotonically with stress levels and the medium stress level is likely to have the largest suppressive effect. The suppressive effect of ETS on PS may significantly delay the embrittlement and extend the service longevity of DSS components within the miscibility gap. These results further the understanding of the effect of ETS on PS and elastic stress should be considered in the configurations of computational simulations of PS and evaluation of the service longevity of DSS components.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY TO EXPLORE THE EFFECT OF PERCEIVED STRESS AND ANXIETY ON ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS


 
 
 With all of the difficulties and problems that arose during COVID 19, pandemic students endured a period of demotivation as a result of the lack of understanding surrounding the situation, as no one has ever experienced anything like it before and everything seems to be grim to them. Thus this study was conducted to see how stress and anxiety have impacted achievement motivation levels. A total of 70 students between ages of 17-20 were selected by stratified random sampling. The objective was to study the effects of perceived stress and anxiety on achievement motivation. Also to study the relationship between perceived stress and achievement motivation and anxiety and achievement motivation of students. Perceived stress scale (PSS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS) was used to measure perceived stress, anxiety, and achievement motivation. Students with high and medium levels of stress have low achievement motivation, while students with low achievement motivation have a low level of anxiety, according to the findings. Anxiety has no impact on motivation; however stress has a substantial impact. According to the study, stress has a significant negative link with academic motivation. Male students were also found to be more stressed than female students, whereas female students had higher anxiety levels than male students. While there was no significant difference in accomplishment motivation between male and female students, there was a significant difference in achievement motivation between male and female students.
 
 

The Impact of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic on Stress and Anxiety of Dental Students.

To investigate the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on stress and anxiety of preclinical and clinical dental students. Dental students (participants) in their clinical course (CC; n = 64) or preclinical course (PCC; n = 53) were included in the study. The subjective perceived levels of stress and anxiety were evaluated using the Dental Environment Stress (DES) questionnaire and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS) questionnaire. Cortisol levels were measured in saliva samples collected from participants. Knowledge of the pandemic was evaluated using a 100-mm visual analog scale. All data were collected twice: once during the university holidays and once during term time. Results from DES, DASS, and salivary cortisol tests were compared between baseline and follow-up using descriptive and bivariate statistics. Multivariate linear regression models were computed with DES, DASS, and cortisol values as dependent variables to analyze possible influencing factors. Participants showed medium levels of stress and anxiety at baseline and follow-up. The DASS score in the "anxiety" subdomain was significantly higher in the PCC group than in the CC group at baseline (p < 0.001) and increased during term time. DASS scores in the "stress" subdomain also increased during term time. However, both subdomain scores were lower than the cutoff value for a psychological disorder. The mean total DES scores were 615.9 ± 97.7 in the CC group and 580.40 ± 98.9 in the PCC group. These scores indicated medium stress levels and were not significantly different between the groups, nor did they change during the study period. Mean saliva cortisol levels were higher in the CC group (9.2 ± 5.2) than in the PCC group (4.9 ± 2.2) at baseline (p < 0.001) but converged by follow-up. Multivariate regression models showed that intraindividual perception of stress at baseline was consistently the most important aspect for changes in stress and anxiety levels during term time. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic affected stress and anxiety levels in some participants, but this was not ubiquitous. Intraindividual differences in stress perception seem to be more relevant than course affiliation (preclinical or clinical) or the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic to stress and anxiety levels in dental students.

The influence of elective martial arts classes on the stress resistance students of the NSMU

This article examines the relationship between the level of development of resistance to psychophysiological stress and elective martial arts classes among students of the Northern State Medical University. The authors analyzed the essence and structure of adaptation mechanisms to stressful situations, as well as the role of resistance to stress during the learning process. The purpose of the study is: to evaluate the effectiveness of martial arts classes in comparison with physical education classes. The study was conducted in the form of a survey among two groups of students of the Northern State Medical University: those who regularly attended elective martial arts classes, and a control group (students attending regular physical education classes). In total, 64 students of the 3rd and 4th courses of medical and pediatric faculties aged from 20 to 22 years took part in the study. To conduct a survey among students, the Lemur-Tessier-Fillion "Psychological Stress Scale" (PSM-25) was used, which helps to assess stressful feelings by various indicators. As the results of the survey presented in the article showed, students who engage in martial arts on a regular basis have low and medium levels of stress, whereas students of the control group are more characterized by a high level.

Estimation of stress amongst the parents of neonates admitted to neonatal intensive care unit

Introduction: The admission of the baby to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a stressful predicament for parents. This study aims to evaluate parental stress levels and the factors impacting them. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the NICU of a tertiary care centre for 3 months. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of demographic characteristics of parents, neonates and Parental Stressor Scale: NICU (PSS: NICU) to measure parental stress. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and an independent t-test. Results: P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Most of the parents reported medium stress levels (3–3.9). The mean total parental stress score of parents was 3.31 (0.36). Amongst the PSS: NICU subscales, the NICU sight and sound caused maximum stress to the parents (mean = 3.35 [0.48]) followed by the relationship with the baby and parental role (mean = 3.34 [0.44]). Mothers felt more stressed as compared to fathers (mean = 3.60 [0.23] vs. 3.08 [0.28]; P < 0.05). Conclusion: Higher parental stress levels were seen in lower age group (18–25 years), less than high school education, unemployed and previous history of neonatal death, outborn deliveries, pre-term (gestational age <37 weeks), birth weight <1500 g, longer duration of respiratory support (>3 days), intubated with ventilatory support, not started on feeds and not given kangaroo mother care. Parents of NICU-admitted neonates are under significant stress, and there is a necessity to provide family-centred care.

Assessment of mental health in patients with irritable bowel syndrome

Background. The study of mental health in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a promising area of medicine not only in terms of determining the psychological profile, but can also serve as an alternative in terms of further management and treatment of this group of patients. The purpose of the study was to examine mental health of IBS patients. Materials and methods. 54 patients with IBS were examined in the psychiatric clinic of Gǟvle Hospital in 2019–2021. They were included in group I of the examined patients. The control group (groupII) included 40 healthy individuals. Assessment of the psychological status was determined using the following methods: 1) Psychological Stress Measure PSM-25 by Lemyr-Tessier-Fillion; 2) The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale; 3) Health Assessment 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36 Health Assessment). Results. Despite the fact that physical symptoms (abdominal pain, intestinal spasm, defecatory dysfunction) were the main complaints in the clinical picture of our patients with IBS, it was found that the key factor in exacerbating and maintaining IBS physical symptoms are psychosocial (cognitive and emotional) factors. We evaluated the quality of life and psychological state of the examined patients with IBS. Analyzing the PSM-25 questions answered by patients from group I with IBS (n=54) and from control group II (n=40) on the level of psychological stress, the following results were obtained with gender distribution: 42.9% of female patients of group I had a high level of stress, and 50.0% a medium level of stress; low levels of stress were found in only 7.1% of female patients of group I. After analyzing the level of stress, we assessed stress resistance, as a significant proportion of patients showed high and medium levels of stress. The level of stress was significantly higher in patients with IBS compared with the control group II. According to the survey on the psychological and physical component of health, these scores were also reduced in patients with IBS compared with the control group. Conclusions. High and medium levels of stress, as well as reduced stress resistance, were found in IBS patients, which is more pronounced in male patients. Decreased psychological and physical components of health have been found in IBS patients, indicating a reduction in the quality of life of these patients.

Nonlinear Creep Amplification Factor Considering Damage Evolution of Concrete under Compression.

Creep affects the long-term deformation of concrete structures. Nonlinear creep further overestimates the safety factor of structures and affects the safety service performance. The coupling of creep and a damage model considering the rate effect is conducive to accurate prediction of nonlinear creep, but the iterative process of strain makes the calculation method more complex. The purpose of this study is to propose a nonlinear creep explicit method that considers the damage evolution of concrete under compression. Two groups of axial compression members with compressive stresses of 0.2 fc and 0.4 fc were made. Considering the law of concrete damage evolution under uniaxial compression, coupled with elastic creep and damage incremental strain, the lower limit of the medium stress level that gives rise to nonlinear creep is analyzed. The concrete nonlinear creep amplification coefficient with a loading age of 28 days and loading duration of 360 days is studied with consideration for the uncertainty of relative humidity and the theoretical thickness of the component. On this basis, the explicit calculation formula of the nonlinear creep amplification coefficient related to the concrete axial compressive strength and stress level is given. The results indicate that the nonlinear creep amplification coefficient increases nonlinearly with an increase in the stress level, and, when the compressive stress level ratio is higher than 0.6, the nonlinear creep amplification coefficient increases significantly; when the stress level is determined, the creep amplification coefficient decreases gradually with an increase in the compressive strength of the concrete. It is suggested that a stress level range of 0.35~0.75 should be used for the study of a nonlinear creep amplification factor under the medium stress state.

The capacity to adapt: Documenting the relationship between stressors and probable depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress at two time points during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundPsychological adaptability, or the reduction of psychiatric symptoms in the context of ongoing stressors, is well-documented. The present study assessed relationships between COVID-19 related stressors and depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress (PTS) during April and July 2020. MethodsPrevalence of, and changes in, symptom severity levels in April vs. July were measured with ANOVA F-tests. Logistic regressions were used to assess the odds of probable diagnosis. ResultsSymptom distributions skewed lower in July, as compared to April for all three diagnostic categories. From April to July, prevalence of probable anxiety and depression decreased across all levels of stress, prevalence of PTS increased for high stress, and decreased for medium and low stress levels. In July, only high stress related to higher odds of probable diagnoses, as compared to April when both medium and high stress did. LimitationsDue to use of cross-sectional self-report data, the present findings could not establish causality between variables, and provide probable, rather than clinical, diagnoses. ConclusionFindings emphasize adaptability phenomena during COVID-19 and highlight the nuanced impact of ongoing stress.

Mechanical properties of landfill components under low to medium stress levels

Mechanical properties of landfill components under low to medium stress levels

Snacking Behaviors and Quality of Snack Intake in US Overweight College Students During COVID-19 Pandemic

ObjectivesTo assess snacking behaviors and their associations with quality of snack intake in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of the baseline data from the Snackability app Trial. The Snackability app scores the snacks based on the USDA snacking guideline. Socio-demographics (age, gender, income), food security, stress levels, and snacking behaviors (type of snacks more accessible, knowledge of how to choose healthy snacks, snacking frequency, and snacking time) were assessed through online questionnaires and dietary recalls via the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour, version 2020. Snacks were identified from the recalls, scored using the Snackability app scoring system, and categorized into unhealthy (≤5.750), somewhat healthy (5.751–7.000), healthy (7.001–8.000), and very healthy (8.001–11.000). Logistic regressions were used to associate snacking behaviors and snack scores. Snack scores were also compared by socio-demographics and snacking time (5:00–11:59 AM, 12:00–2:59 PM, 3:00–5:59 PM, and 6:00 PM-4:59 AM) using Kruskal–Wallis. ResultsA total of 140 college students (18–24 years) were included in this analysis; 125/140 reported consuming snacks. Median age was 21 years and BMI was 28.5 kg/m2. Most were female (85.7%), with a household income < $50,000 (51.4%), high food security (71.4%), and medium stress level (49.3%). Most consumed somewhat healthy snacks (29.6%). Knowledge, income, food security, and stress level were not significantly associated with snack scores. Those who consumed snacks more frequently (≥2 times per day) had higher odds of consuming healthy snacks (OR 4.00; 95% CI 1.26, 12.72; P < 0.05) compared to snacking 1 time per day and those with more accessibility/availability of unhealthy snacks had higher odds of consuming unhealthy snacks (OR 4.76; 95% CI 1.52, 14.95; P < 0.05) compared to accessibility/availability of healthy snacks. Evening snack scores were significantly lower than morning snacks (5:00 am–11:59 am) and afternoon snacks (3:00–5:59 pm) (P < 0.05). ConclusionsSnacking frequency, accessibility and availability of unhealthy snacks, and snacking time were significantly associated with snack scores. Funding SourcesInternal funds from Florida International University.

Perceived stress among physician parents during COVID-19 pandemic

IntroductionStress among physician parents is still poorly studied, especially during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic.ObjectivesTo describe the stress of being both a doctor and a parent during COVID-19 epidemic.Methods It was a cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study, carried out on google drive in March 2021, and relating to 93 Tunisian medical parents. We used a questionnaire containing the parents’ personal and professional data as well as the perceived stress scale (PSS10).ResultsThe majority of parents (94.7%) were women. The average age was 34.43 years old. The average age of marriage was 29.6 years for men and 25.4 years for women. The majority of parents (89.4%) had one or two children and 70.2% were satisfied with their relationship with their children. On another side, 71.3% of doctors had to provide on duty services in the hospital, with 44.1% providing 3-4 on-calls per month, while 69% were providing on duty services in the COVID units. The average PSS score was 22.6. The distribution of scores indicated medium and high stress level in respectively 84.9% and 14% of parents. Furthermore, the PSS score was negatively correlated with the marriage age (p = 0.046, r = -0.2). On the other hand, no association was observed with the children number nor with the satisfaction of the relationship with his child.ConclusionsIt follows from our study that stress among physician parents is at a fairly high level. Managing this stress during a pandemic is not easy and requires the activation of several defense mechanisms.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

ECG-Based Driver’s Stress Detection Using Deep Transfer Learning and Fuzzy Logic Approaches

Driver&#x2019;s stress detection is a critical research area that helps reduce the likelihood of traffic accidents and driver&#x2019;s health complexities due to prolonged stress. Previous work in this area is heavily based on traditional machine learning models that classify the driver&#x2019;s stress levels using handcrafted features extraction techniques. Extracting the best features using these approaches is always a challenging task. Recently, deep learning techniques have emerged for constructing reliable features automatically and classifying the classes with high accuracy. However, large deep learning models face gradient exploding or vanishing problems. Moreover, acquiring a large dataset for training an entire network from scratch is also a challenging task. This paper is based on the deep transfer learning technique to avoid these problems and to reduce computational cost and time. Seven models are proposed for real-world driver&#x2019;s stress levels detection using Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Different Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based pre-trained networks are used to classify the driver&#x2019;s three stress levels. The time-frequency ECG components for the three stress levels are obtained as scalogram images using a normalized Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) filter bank and Morse wavelet. Results show that Model 5 based on Xception outperforms the GoogLeNet, DarkNet-53, ResNet-101, InceptionResNetV2, DenseNet-201, and InceptionV3 based models by 11.32&#x0025;, 11.32&#x0025;, 9.45&#x0025;, 7.54&#x0025;, 5.66&#x0025;, and 1.88&#x0025; respectively and achieves 98.11&#x0025; overall validation accuracy. Ranking estimation using fuzzy logic approach shows that Xception based Model 5 achieves the highest rank for driver&#x2019;s high and medium stress levels, while DenseNet-201 based Model 4 achieves the highest rank for low-stress level detection among the other models.