Physiological Stress Markers Research Articles

Psychobiological Monitoring of a Home-Based Dyadic Intervention for People Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Added Value to Evaluate Treatment Success and Understand Underlying Mechanisms.

Research concerning people living with dementia (PwD) and their informal caregivers (ICs) has recently begun to focus on dyadic aspects of psychosocial interventions. We adapted a dyadic psychosocial intervention and examined its effects on psychobiological stress in daily life. Twenty-four PwD-caregiver dyads were visited seven times at home by specialized nursing staff. Momentary subjective stress, salivary cortisol (sCort), and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) were measured in PwD and ICs before and after each home visit as well as six times per day at two days each at the beginning and end of the intervention as part of an ambulatory assessment. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) were measured twice. After each home visit session, ICs reported lower subjective stress. sCort was lower in both ICs and PwD, whereas sAA did not change. In daily life, area under the curve (AUCg) concerning sCort secretion indicated that PwD had lower sCort daily output at the end of the intervention, and AUCg concerning subjective stress indicated that both PwD and ICs reported lower subjective stress than at the beginning of the intervention. AUCg concerning sAA did not change over time in either group. HCC did not vary over time but increased with disease severity. The psychosocial intervention reduced psychobiological stress but affected psychobiological stress measures differently in PwD and ICs. In particular, the discrepancy between subjective and physiological markers of stress in PwD emphasizes the added value to evaluate treatment success and understand underlying mechanisms as a complement to self-reports.

Cardiac activity in walleye (Sander vitreus) during exposure to and recovery from chemical anaesthesia, electroanaesthesia and electrostunning.

Handling and conducting invasive procedures are necessary for aspects of fisheries science, invariably inducing a stress response and imposing energetic demands on fish. Anaesthesia or immobilisation techniques are often used in an attempt to mitigate stress and improve welfare, yet these also come with their own impacts on post-release recovery. Here, the authors investigated whether changes in cardiac activity (heart rates over time, heart rate maxima, and scopes) differed in adult walleye (Sander vitreus) anaesthetised with AQUI-S® 20E (eugenol), electroanaesthetised with a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit or electrostunned with a commercially developed stunning unit. This experiment was divided into two trials. In the first trial, fish were implanted with heart rate loggers and left to recover for c. 4 days. In the second trial, fish were implanted with heart rate loggers, given 3 days to recover and re-exposed to their initial treatments (excluding surgery). Post-treatment cardiac activity was quantified for both trials. Although highly variable across individuals, the authors found no significant differences in heart rate changes over time or recovery times among treatments. Maximum heart rates were consistent among treatment groups, yet significant differences in heart rate scope provided further evidence of strong interindividual variation in the second trial. Based on these results, the authors did not identify any welfare-relevant differences or concerns associated with one treatment over another. Further investigations of the relationships between measures of cardiac function and other physiological stress markers would be beneficial towards identifying best practices for fish handling in fisheries science.

Assessing population-level stress through glucocorticoid hormone monitoring in wastewater

Stress is oftentimes overlooked in societies, despite its life-threatening impact. Here, we assessed the feasibility of measuring endogenous stress hormones to estimate population-level stress by wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Two primary glucocorticoids, cortisol and cortisone, were monitored in wastewater by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), to assess changes in these physiological markers of stress in a student population (n = 26,000 ± 7100) on a university campus in the southwestern U.S. Daily composite samples were collected for seven consecutive days each month during the Fall (Autumn) 2017 and Spring 2018 academic semesters (n = 134). Reproducible weekly patterns were seen in stress hormone excretion, with the highest levels occurring on Mondays (124 ± 44 μg d−1 per person) and Tuesdays (127 ± 54 μg d−1 per person) and the lowest on Sundays (87 ± 32 μg d−1 per person). Stress levels on weekdays (defined by class schedules Monday-Thursday) were significantly higher than on weekends (p < 0.05). During both Fall and Spring semesters, per person stress levels of these hormones were significantly higher (p < 0.05) during the first two months of each semester, 162 ± 28 μg d−1 per person (August), 104 ± 29 μg d−1 per person (September), 180 ± 14 μg d−1 per person (January), and 114 ± 54 μg d−1 per person (February) than in the remaining measured weeks in the semester, including finals week captured in both semesters. Overall Spring semester stress levels (113 ± 45 μg d−1 per person) were significantly higher than the Fall (94 ± 42 μg d−1 per person), p < 0.01. This study is the first to demonstrate the utility of endogenous biomarkers, specifically glucocorticoid hormones, to monitor population health status (in this instance community stress) in near real-time by wastewater assessments.

P715. Increased Hair Cortisol Levels are Associated With a Shift Towards Exploitative Decision-Making in Health Care Workers in the COVID-19 Pandemic

BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) were required to make flexible decisions in a rapidly changing environment under significant stress. Linking subjective and physiological markers of stress to quantitative measures of decision-making is critical for understanding the resilience of healthcare workers during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to utilize an explore-exploit computational psychiatry paradigm to measure the effects of COVID-19 related stress on decision-making flexibility.MethodsWe utilized biomarker and survey data to query chronic stress; 123 participants completed the survey and 54 hair samples were collected. Cortisol was measured with LC/MS/MS. We evaluated explore/exploit behavior with a resting three-arm bandit task, and 66 completed the task.ResultsEighty-seven met criteria for COVID-19 related PTSD, however, we found no significant correlation between hair cortisol and symptoms measures. In contrast, we found that participants with higher hair cortisol exhibited greater exploitation (Pearsons’ r=-0.36, p=0.046). Additionally, explore-state reward-dependent switching behavior, a state-specific measure of learning from reward, significantly decreased with increasing cortisol (r=-0.49, p=0.007). Further, in a basic 3-parameter reinforcement learning model, the learning rate alpha inversely correlated with cortisol (r =-0.467, p=0.007).ConclusionsComputational model-derived decision-making variables demonstrated a robust correlation with hair cortisol concentrations. Without this task, biomarker data may appear independent of chronic stress. This study highlights the importance of quantitative behavioral tasks and physiological signals to understanding the interaction of mood and cognition with stress.Supported ByThis work was supported by the University of Minnesota Office of Academic and Clinical Affairs COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant. Research in this publication was also supported in part by the Office Of The Director, National Institutes of Health under Award Number P51OD011106 to the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. This research was conducted in part (as applicable) at a facility constructed with support from Research Facilities Improvement Program grant numbers RR15459-01 and RR020141-01.KeywordsCognitive Flexibility, Hair Cortisol, COVID-19 Pandemic, Computational Psychiatry BackgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) were required to make flexible decisions in a rapidly changing environment under significant stress. Linking subjective and physiological markers of stress to quantitative measures of decision-making is critical for understanding the resilience of healthcare workers during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to utilize an explore-exploit computational psychiatry paradigm to measure the effects of COVID-19 related stress on decision-making flexibility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) were required to make flexible decisions in a rapidly changing environment under significant stress. Linking subjective and physiological markers of stress to quantitative measures of decision-making is critical for understanding the resilience of healthcare workers during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to utilize an explore-exploit computational psychiatry paradigm to measure the effects of COVID-19 related stress on decision-making flexibility. MethodsWe utilized biomarker and survey data to query chronic stress; 123 participants completed the survey and 54 hair samples were collected. Cortisol was measured with LC/MS/MS. We evaluated explore/exploit behavior with a resting three-arm bandit task, and 66 completed the task. We utilized biomarker and survey data to query chronic stress; 123 participants completed the survey and 54 hair samples were collected. Cortisol was measured with LC/MS/MS. We evaluated explore/exploit behavior with a resting three-arm bandit task, and 66 completed the task. ResultsEighty-seven met criteria for COVID-19 related PTSD, however, we found no significant correlation between hair cortisol and symptoms measures. In contrast, we found that participants with higher hair cortisol exhibited greater exploitation (Pearsons’ r=-0.36, p=0.046). Additionally, explore-state reward-dependent switching behavior, a state-specific measure of learning from reward, significantly decreased with increasing cortisol (r=-0.49, p=0.007). Further, in a basic 3-parameter reinforcement learning model, the learning rate alpha inversely correlated with cortisol (r =-0.467, p=0.007). Eighty-seven met criteria for COVID-19 related PTSD, however, we found no significant correlation between hair cortisol and symptoms measures. In contrast, we found that participants with higher hair cortisol exhibited greater exploitation (Pearsons’ r=-0.36, p=0.046). Additionally, explore-state reward-dependent switching behavior, a state-specific measure of learning from reward, significantly decreased with increasing cortisol (r=-0.49, p=0.007). Further, in a basic 3-parameter reinforcement learning model, the learning rate alpha inversely correlated with cortisol (r =-0.467, p=0.007). ConclusionsComputational model-derived decision-making variables demonstrated a robust correlation with hair cortisol concentrations. Without this task, biomarker data may appear independent of chronic stress. This study highlights the importance of quantitative behavioral tasks and physiological signals to understanding the interaction of mood and cognition with stress. Computational model-derived decision-making variables demonstrated a robust correlation with hair cortisol concentrations. Without this task, biomarker data may appear independent of chronic stress. This study highlights the importance of quantitative behavioral tasks and physiological signals to understanding the interaction of mood and cognition with stress.

Caring for the sick in a medieval rural community: A study based on paleopathological and archaeological data from Medieval Rus’

ObjectiveThis research seeks to identify the way the sick were treated in the 14th–15th centuries АD in a rural community located close to the medieval urban centre of Suzdal in central medieval Russia MaterialsSkeletons of 26 humans were examined from the cemetery associated with the rural settlement of Mikhali 3/Mininskoe (central Russia) (14th–15th centuries A.D.) MethodsArchaeological study, paleodemographic analysis, description of physiological stress markers, stature reconstruction, X-ray, 3D scan. ResultsThe remains comprised of 11 children, 11 adult females and 4 adult males. Numerous stress markers, as well as indicators of chronic disease and low levels of sexual dimorphism were noted suggesting a hard life and low social position. However, about 20% of adults lived to more than 40 years old and the archaeological artifacts – markers of prosperity –suggests high living standards of the majority of the inhabitants. ConclusionsAmong the possible explanations of the paradox of poor health but ample access to resources is well-developed supportive care practice within the community. SignificanceA combination of bioarchaeological and archaeological studies of a medieval settlement and cemetery of Mikhali 3 offers information about medieval attitude towards the sick. LimitationsFew sites had been analyzed using a complex approach. Suggestions for further researchCombination of bioarchaeological and archaeological sources for estimation of life quality of medieval communities and clarification of their meaning of ‘life quality’.

50 The Influence of L-Glutamine Supplementation on Measures of Intestinal Permeability, Immune Function, and Physiological Stress in Holstein Heifer Calves

Abstract L-glutamine (GLN) supplementation improves intestinal integrity and immune function in dairy calves during controlled stress challenges. However, it is unknown whether supplementing milk replacer (MR) with GLN offers similar benefits to intestinal integrity and immune function or reduces markers of physiological stress in pre-weaned dairy calves managed under production-relevant conditions. Thirty Holstein heifer calves [1.5 ± 0.5 d old; 37.1 ± 0.9 kg body weight (BW)] were blocked by serum total protein, BW, and age, and provided MR (38L·calf-1·d-1, 24% CP, 17% fat, 12.5% solids) supplemented with GLN (10g/kg dry MR; n = 15 calves) or not-supplemented (NS/control; n = 15 calves). Calves were individually housed with ad libitum starter grain and water access until weaning (56.4 ± 0.5 d old). At 2 and 5 weeks of age, urinary catheters were placed, and calves were orally dosed with 1 L Cr-EDTA. Urine samples were collected over a 24-hr period for Cr output analysis as an in vivo biomarker of intestinal permeability. Blood was collected on study d 1, 2, 5, 7, 14, 21, 42, and 56 to measure haptoglobin, serum amyloid A, and neutrophil:lymphocyte. Two study periods were identified representing greater (P1; weeks 1-3) and reduced (P2; weeks 4-8) enteric disease susceptibility. Data were analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX in SAS 9.4 with calf as the experimental unit. Overall, total Cr output was reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.01; 29.4%) in GLN versus NS calves. Total CR output was decreased at 2 weeks (P = 0.04; 42.6%) in GLN versus NS calves, but no differences were detected at 5 weeks. Neutrophil:lymphocyte was decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.01; 28.3%) during P2 in GLN versus NS calves. In summary, GLN supplementation improved markers of intestinal integrity and physiological stress in pre-weaned Holstein heifer calves managed under production-relevant conditions.

EFFECTS OF MELATONIN ON PHYSIO-BIOCHEMICAL AND IONIC STRESS MARKERS IN MAIZE AT SEEDLING STAGE UNDER SALT STRESS

Oxidative stress due to salinity creates a challenging situation for seed germination and early seedling establishment in maize. Over than normal production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leaves cataclysmic effects on the physiology of plants when subjected to saline environment. Melatonin is versatile stress mitigating organic molecule reported to have significant potential for scavenging ROS. The present study was conducted with the aim to study the effects of different concentrations of melatonin viz., control, 500, 1000 &amp; 1500 µM on the physiological and bio-chemical stress markers in the six maize genotypes viz., MMRI-Yellow, NCEV-1530-9, YH-1898, Composite, SB-9617 and FH-949.The study was planned in sand culture (pot study) using CRD with factorial arrangement. The results of the present study demonstrated that melatonin priming in all the concentrations viz., 500,1000 and 1500µM significantly enhanced the germination percentage (by 14.0 , 25.0 and 27 %), chlorophyll a (23.3, 43.3 &amp; 40.0 %), chlorophyll b contents (by 29.2, 50.0 &amp; 50.0 %), total soluble sugar-TSS (by 20.0, 31.5 &amp; 40.4 %), total soluble protein-TSP (by 10.0, 15.5 &amp; 20.5%), chlorophyll stability index-CSI (by 15.0, 20.3 &amp; 25.6%), membrane stability index-MSI (13.3, 25.7 &amp; 26.6%), relative water contents-RWC (13.7, 23.3 &amp; 24.0%), phenolic contents-TP (14.8, 24.3 &amp; 26.8 %), proline contents-Pro (23.0, 35.2 &amp; 37.7%), superoxide dismutase-SOD (by 25.5, 41.0 &amp; 45.0 %), per-oxidase-POD (by 17.8, 25.1 &amp; 24.7%), catalase-CAT (by 37.7, 51.5 &amp; 54.3%) and reduced concentrations of H2O2 (by19.3, 26.5 &amp; 30.1 %), malondialdehyde-MDA contents (by 15.1, 22.4 &amp; 22.3%) and electrolyte leakage-EL (by 12.4, 18.0 &amp; 16.5 %), compared to un-primed seed treatment. Interestingly the higher concentrations of melatonin were statistically produced the same effects. The genotype SB-9617outperformed, with respect to higher accumulation of photo-pigments, TSS, TSP and TP with improved of membrane stability, relative water contents and enhanced activities of the anti-oxidant enzymes (SOD, POD and CAT) showed reduced lipid per-oxidation and electrolyte. In PCA-bi-plot, PC1 and PC2 contributed maximally i.e. 90.9 and 3.7% to explain the total variations i.e 94.6 %. Additionally, SB-9617 with melatonin priming@ 1000µM proved the best to mitigate adverse effects of salt stress at germination and early seedling growth stage via cross taking with physiological and bio-chemical stress markers.

MRI as a Stressor: The Psychological and Physiological Response of Patients to MRI, Influencing Factors, and Consequences.

Despite being noninvasive and painless, MRI is recurrently associated with stress and anxiety in patients. This adversely affects patient experience and may be associated with negative outcomes for the health care provider. This study examined the psychological and physiological response of patients to MRI and how these response levels relate, the role of different potentially influencing factors, and the relation to procedural outcomes. Data of 96 patients (mean 48.77 ± 15.11 years; 61.5% female) were included. The patients' psychological or physiological response was assessed before and after MRI via questionnaires on anxiety, strain, agitation, and mood and salivary α-amylase, and cortisol. Data on potentially influencing factors and outcomes of the clinical workflow were collected via questionnaires. We observed significant improvements of all psychological measures from pre- to post-MRI (all P < .001) but not of the physiological stress markers (all P > .258). The psychological response correlated with levels of cortisol but not α-amylase. The valence of previous MRI experiences was particularly predictive of the patients' reaction. Stress and anxiety in patients significantly predicted the probability of scan repetitions (Nagelkerke's R2= .31, P= .011) and scan duration (adjusted R2= .22, P < .001). These findings imply that various factors contribute to the patients' response to MRI. Stress and anxiety in patients, in turn, may impact the clinical workflow. Therefore, these factors should be considered in the medical treatment to provide both a positive patient experience and smooth clinical workflows.

Time-course effects of functional fitness sessions performed at different intensities on the metabolic, hormonal, and BDNF responses in trained men

BackgroundTo investigate the time-course effects of a self-regulated training session (performed at an rating perceived exertion of 6/10), all-out session, and a control session on the metabolic, hormonal, and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) responses in Functional-Fitness (FFT) participants.MethodsIn a randomized, crossover fashion, eight healthy males (age 28.1 ± 5.4 years old; body mass 77.2 ± 4.4 kg; VO2max: 52.6 ± 4.6 mL.(kg.min)−1; 2000 m rowing test 7.35 ± 0.18 min; 1RM back squat 135.6 ± 21.9 kg) performed a FFT session under two different conditions: all-out, or with the intensity controlled to elicit an rating perceived exertion (RPE) of 6 in the Borg 10-point scale (RPE6). A control session (no exercise) was also completed. Metabolic (lactate and creatine kinase), hormonal (testosterone and cortisol), and BDNF responses were assessed pre, post-0 h, 1 h, 2 h and 24 h after the sessions.ResultsCreatine kinase concentrations were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.05) after 24 h for both training sessions. Total and free testosterone concentrations were lower post-2 h for all-out when compared to the RPE6 session (p ≤ 0.05). Serum cortisol concentration increased post-0 h (p = 0.011) for RPE6 and post-0 h (p = 0.003) and post-1 h (p = 0.030) for all-out session when comparing to baseline concentrations. BDNF was significantly higher (p = 0.002) post-0 h only for the all-out session when compared to baseline. A positive correlation between blood lactate concentrations and BDNF (r = 0.51; p = 0.01) was found for both effort interventions.ConclusionsA single FFT session when performed in all-out format acutely increases the concentrations of serum BDNF. However, physiological stress markers show that the all-out session requires a longer recovery period when compared to the RPE6 protocol. These findings can be helpful to coaches and practitioners design FFT session.

Physiological stress in response to multitasking and work interruptions: Study protocol.

The biopsychological response patterns to digital stress have been sparsely investigated so far. Important potential stressors in modern working environments due to increased digitalization are multitasking and work interruptions. In this study protocol, we present a protocol for a laboratory experiment, in which we will investigate the biopsychological stress response patterns to multitasking and work interruptions. In total, N = 192 healthy, adult participants will be assigned to six experimental conditions in a randomized order (one single-task, three dual-task (two in parallel and one as interruption), one multitasking, and one passive control condition). Salivary alpha-amylase as well as heart rate as markers for Sympathetic Nervous System Activity, heart rate variability as measure for Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) activity, and cortisol as measure for activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis will be assessed at six time points throughout the experimental session. Furthermore, inflammatory markers (i.e., IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and secretory immunoglobulin-A) will be assessed before and after the task as well as 24 hours after it (IL-6 and CRP only). Main outcomes will be the time course of these physiological stress markers. Reactivity of these measures will be compared between the experimental conditions (dual-tasking, work interruptions, and multitasking) with the control conditions (single-tasking and passive control). With this study protocol, we present a comprehensive experiment, which will enable an extensive investigation of physiological stress-responses to multitasking and work interruptions. Our planned study will contribute to a better understanding of physiological response patterns to modern (digital) stressors. Potential risks and limitations are discussed. The findings will have important implications, especially in the context of digital health in modern working and living environments.

Modulation of Fecal Metabolites by Heat Stress and Diet, and Their Association with Inflammation and Leaky Gut Markers in Dairy Cows.

The analysis of fecal metabolite profiles could provide novel insights into the mechanisms underlying animal responses to environmental stressors and diet. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a 14-day heat stress period and of dietary mineral and vitamin supplementation under heat stress on fecal metabolite profiles and to investigate their associations with physiological markers of heat stress, leaky gut, and inflammation in lactating dairy cows. Twelve multiparous Holstein cows (42.2 ± 5.6 kg milk/d; 83.4 ± 27.1 DIM) were enrolled in an experiment in a split-plot design. The main plot was the level of dietary vitamin E and Se, as follows: (1) low (L-ESe; 20 IU/kg vitamin E, 0.3 ppm Se) or (2) high (H-ESe 200 IU/kg vitamin E, 1.2 ppm Se). Within each plot, six cows were randomly assigned to either (1) heat stress (HS; Total Humidity Index (THI): 82), (2) pair-feeding in thermoneutrality (TNPF; THI = 64), or (3) HS with vitamin D3 and Ca supplementation (HS+DCa; 1820 IU/kg and 1.5% Ca; THI: 82) in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design with 14-day periods and 7-day washouts. The concentrations of 94 metabolites were determined in fecal samples, including amino acids, fatty acids, biogenic amines, and vitamins. Relative to the L-ESe group, the H-ESe group increased α-tocopherol by threefold, whereas δ-tocopherol was decreased by 78% (PFDR < 0.01). Nevertheless, correlation analysis between α-tocopherol and all the others fecal metabolites or physiological heat stress measures did not show significant associations. No interactions between main plot and treatments were observed. Relative to TNPF, HS increased plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), plasma lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), milk somatic cell counts (SCC), respiratory rates, rectal temperatures, fecal tridecylic and myristic acids, vitamin B7, and retinol, whereas it decreased fecal amino acids such as histidine, methyl histidine, acetyl ornithine, and arginine (PFDR < 0.05). In contrast, HS+DCa increased fecal methyl histidine concentrations and reduced milk SCC, plasma TNF-α, and LBP, as well as rectal temperatures. Discriminant analysis revealed fecal histidine, taurine, acetyl ornithine, arginine, β-alanine, ornithine, butyric + iso-butyric acid, plasma non-esterified fatty acids, TNF-α, LBP, C-reactive protein, and milk SCC were predictive of HS. Several metabolites were predictive of HS+DCa, although only tryptophan was discriminant relative to HS. In conclusion, both heat stress and the supplementation of vitamin D3 and Ca can influence the fecal metabolome of dairy cows experiencing heat stress, independently of dietary levels of vitamin E and Se. Our results suggest that some fecal metabolites are well associated with physiological measures of heat stress and may thus provide insights into the gut-level changes taking place under heat stress in dairy cows.

Synergistic effect of gum Arabic and carboxymethyl cellulose as biocomposite coating delays senescence in stored tomatoes by regulating antioxidants and cell wall degradation

This study tested a novel combination of hydrocolloid gum arabic (GA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to extend postharvest life of tomatoes. For this purpose, tomato fruits were coated with GA 10%, CMC 0.5% and GA 10% + CMC 0.5%, and stored for 20 days at 20 °C and 90 ± 2% RH. Application of biocomposite hydrocolloid coating reduced physiological weight loss, respiration rate, ethylene production, decay percentage and stress markers viz. malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide. Biocomposite hydrocolloid coating inhibited change in bioactive compounds (phenolics, ascorbic acid, and lycopene), color, organic acids, soluble sugars and up-regulated enzymatic ROS scavenging mechanism in tomato fruit more than GA or CMC coating. Moreover, biocomposite coatings delayed senescence by reducing activity of cell wall degrading enzymes and maintaining cell wall fractions. Conclusively, the biocomposite coating based on GA and CMC was superior to their individual coating in prolonging ripening phase, delaying senescence and increasing the acceptability of tomato fruits for longer duration.

Physiological markers of traffic-related stress during active travel

Understanding perceptions of safety and comfort (PSC) while walking or cycling is essential to accommodating and encouraging active travel, but current measures of PSC, primarily surveys, suffer from validity and reliability issues. Physiological markers of stress like electrodermal activity and heart rate variability have been proposed as alternative, objective measures of PSC. This paper presents a literature summary and conceptual framework examining the use of physiological stress markers during walking and cycling. The existing studies of active traveller stress markers report inconsistent findings and account for limited controls. We propose a comprehensive conceptual framework to describe the array of dynamic stimuli experienced during active travel, with complex appraisals and multidimensional stress responses that feedback to travel behaviour and stimuli exposure, and culminate in a set of physiological outcomes triggered by activation of the autonomic nervous system – all moderated by numerous personal and trip-related factors. The key challenge of inferring traffic-related fear or discomfort from physiological markers measured on-road is potential confounding effects of: (1) non-traffic factors that induce or modify stress responses, (2) traffic factors that induce stress responses not associated with safety or comfort, and (3) personal and environmental factors that directly influence physiological measurements outside of a stress response. No physiological stress marker has yet been shown to be reliable for on-road active travellers, particularly not for inter-subject comparisons. Physiological markers have the potential to provide high-resolution, objective information about pedestrian and cyclist PSC, but further research, particularly controlled experiments, and more precise study framing are needed to ensure validity and address moderating and confounding factors.

An Evaluation of Speech-Based Recognition of Emotional and Physiological Markers of Stress

Life in modern societies is fast-paced and full of stress-inducing demands. The development of stress monitoring methods is a growing area of research due to the personal and economic advantages that timely detection provides. Studies have shown that speech-based features can be utilised to robustly predict several physiological markers of stress, including emotional state, continuous heart rate, and the stress hormone, cortisol. In this contribution, we extend previous works by the authors, utilising three German language corpora including more than 100 subjects undergoing a Trier Social Stress Test protocol. We present cross-corpus and transfer learning results which explore the efficacy of the speech signal to predict three physiological markers of stress—sequentially measured saliva-based cortisol, continuous heart rate as beats per minute (BPM), and continuous respiration. For this, we extract several features from audio as well as video and apply various machine learning architectures, including a temporal context-based Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM-RNN). For the task of predicting cortisol levels from speech, deep learning improves on results obtained by conventional support vector regression—yielding a Spearman correlation coefficient (ρ) of 0.770 and 0.698 for cortisol measurements taken 10 and 20 min after the stress period for the two corpora applicable—showing that audio features alone are sufficient for predicting cortisol, with audiovisual fusion to an extent improving such results. We also obtain a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 38 and 22 BPM for continuous heart rate prediction on the two corpora where this information is available, and a normalised RMSE (NRMSE) of 0.120 for respiration prediction (−10: 10). Both of these continuous physiological signals show to be highly effective markers of stress (based on cortisol grouping analysis), both when available as ground truth and when predicted using speech. This contribution opens up new avenues for future exploration of these signals as proxies for stress in naturalistic settings.

Genesis of Artificially Deformed Early Medieval Skulls Discovered at Samtavro Cemetery and Their Historical Significance

The work ‘Genesis of Artificially Deformed Early Medieval Skulls Discovered at Samtavro Cemetery and Their Historical Significance’ looks at early medieval regular and artificially deformed skulls obtained from Samtavro cemetery and preserved at the Anthropological Research Laboratory of the History and Ethnology Institute of the Tbilisi State University. Apart from the skulls, the work deals with the catalogue of the craniological collection and individual data for every skull preserved in this institution. The work also relies on the information of the records kept in the Georgian National Museum, based on which knowledge about early medieval types of graves, burial rites and artifacts of Samtavro cemetery has been obtained. The work looks at the types of cranial deformation, gender and age structure of the buried, physiological stress markers and anomaly frequencies among the population of this period. It also outlines distribution of the inventory among the deformed and non-deformed skulls in order to estimate whether the deformed ones belonged to the upper class society. Charts are compiled based on distribution of deformed and non-deformed skulls obtained from Samtavro cemetery according to gender and age, which provides a clear picture in respect to average life expectancy among the individuals with deformed and non-deformed skulls. In order to find the reason for the deformation, historical sources are considered and final explanation for why the residents of Mtskheta practiced artificial deformation of skulls is provided.

Acute psychosocial stress impairs intention initiation in young but not older adults

Acute psychosocial stress has been shown to impair memory and cognitive control in young adults. So far, only very little empirical research is available concerning possible adult age differences in acute stress effects on cognition in general and cognitive control in particular. Accordingly, the present study set out to test these effects in a controlled laboratory setting comparing performance in a prospective memory task requiring the deployment of proactive cognitive control to successfully implement intentions. Sixty-six young (19–34 years) and 57 older adults (60–82 years) were either exposed to an established psychosocial stress procedure (Trier Social Stress Test) or an active control condition. Stress responses were measured on a fine-grained level across the entire procedure using subjective and physiological stress markers. Results suggest that the stress induction was equally successful in both age groups. While stress impaired prospective memory ability in young adults, it did not affect performance in the older adults. In particular, young adults under acute stress were more likely to completely fail the initiation of the prospective memory task resulting in zero performance. The missing stress effect on prospective memory in older adults is in line with previous studies examining broader mood effects on PM and suggests the exciting possibility that increasing age may act as a resilience factor against deterioration of cognitive control in emotionally challenging situations. Author notesWe thank Florence Caccia, Marta Guidotti, Nikol Hiller, Nada Kojovic, Raphaëlle Martin-Casas and Clémence Voirin for assistance with data collection, Robert Miller for advice concerning the data analyses and Antje Petzold, Jana Strahler and Moritz Walser for their advice regarding study and manuscript preparation. Preparation of this manuscript was funded by a grant (KL2303/5-1) from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to MK and CK.

Bicyclist Stress Perceptions and Heart Rate Variability

This paper describes the relationship between a physiological marker of stress (heart rate variability) and survey-based stress responses from a cross-over real-world bicycling experiment. The analysis shows that while heart rate variability was inversely associated with survey-based estimates of stress, large uncertainty in the relationship indicates carefully controlled experiments are still needed before we can be confident that bicyclist stress can be measured through heart rate variability.

Caregiver subjective and physiological markers of stress and patient heart failure severity in family care dyads

Greater family caregiver exposure to uncontrolled patient symptoms is predictive of greater caregiver psychological and physiological stress in dementia and other chronic illnesses, but these phenomena have not been well-studied in heart failure (HF) – a disease with high symptom burden. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that worse patient functional status (as reflected by increasing HF symptoms) would be associated with elevated psychological and physiological stress for the caregiver. This was a secondary analysis of data from 125 HF caregivers in the Caregiver Opportunities for Optimizing Lifestyle (COOL) study. Psychological stress was measured on four dimensions: care-related strain/burden (Oberst Caregiving Burden Scale), depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Index), and general stress (Perceived Stress Scale). Physiological stress was measured by markers of HPA axis function (elevated cortisol awakening response [CAR]), endothelial dysfunction (increased PAI-1), and inflammation (increased IL-6, hsCRP). HF patient functional status was quantified by caregiver assessment of New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class. Generalized linear models were used to test associations between patient NYHA Class and stress (one model per indicator). NYHA Class (ordinal) was backwards difference coded in each model to examine caregiver stress in relation to increasing levels of HF severity. Caregivers were mostly female and in their mid-fifties, with a slight majority of the sample being African American and the patient’s spouse. Overall, patient functional status was associated with greater caregiver psychological and physiological stress. In terms of psychological stress, higher NYHA Class was significantly associated with greater caregiver anxiety and general stress, but not with caregiver burden or depression. In terms of physiological stress, higher NYHA Class was associated with elevated markers in all models (elevated CAR and higher IL-6, hsCRP, and PAI-1). Across models, most associations between NYHA Class and stress were present at relatively early stages of functional limitation (i.e. Class II), while others emerged when functional limitations became more severe. To inform timing and mechanisms for much-needed caregiver interventions, research is needed to determine which aspects of HF symptomatology are most stressful for caregivers across the HF trajectory.

Resilience and personality as predictors of the biological stress load during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, pandemic-specific stressors have potentiated the—already severe—stress load across the world. However, stress is more than an adverse state, and chronic exposure is causally involved in the development of mental and physical disease. We ask the question whether resilience and the Big Five personality traits predict the biological stress response to the first lockdown in Germany. In a prospective, longitudinal, observational study, N = 80 adult volunteers completed an internet-based survey prior to the first Covid-19-related fatality in Germany (T0), during the first lockdown period (T1), and during the subsequent period of contact restrictions (T2). Hair strands for the assessment of systemic cortisol and cortisone levels were collected at T2. Higher neuroticism predicted higher hair cortisol, cortisone and subjective stress levels. Higher extraversion predicted higher hair cortisone levels. Resilience showed no effects on subjective or physiological stress markers. Our study provides longitudinal evidence that neuroticism and extraversion have predictive utility for the accumulation of biological stress over the course of the pandemic. While in pre-pandemic times individuals high in neuroticism are typically at risk for worse health outcomes, extraverted individuals tend to be protected. We conclude that, in the pandemic context, we cannot simply generalize from pre-pandemic knowledge. Neurotic individuals may currently suffer due to their general emotional lability. Extraverted individuals may primarily be socially stressed. Individualized stress management programs need to be developed, and offered in a lockdown-friendly format, to minimize the stress burden caused by Covid-19 or future pandemics and to protect the most severely affected individuals from the development of stress-associated disease.

Exogenous brassinosteroid and jasmonic acid improve drought tolerance in Brassica rapa L. genotypes by modulating osmolytes, antioxidants and photosynthetic system

Exogenously supplied BR and JA help KS101 and KBS3 genotypes of Brassica rapa to alleviate drought stress by modifying osmolyte concentration, levels of antioxidant enzymes and photosynthetic system. Oilseed plants are susceptible to drought stress and a significant loss in yield has been reported during recent decades. Thus, it is imperative to understand the various underlying drought response mechanisms in Brassica oilseed plants to formulate the sustainable strategies to protect the crop yield under water-limiting conditions. Phytohormones play a key role in fine-tuning various regulatory mechanisms for drought stress adaptation in plants, and the present study explores the response of several physiological stress markers by exogenous supplementation of 24-epibrassinolide (EBL) and jasmonic acid (JA) on two genotypes of Brassica rapa, KS101 and KBS3 under drought stress conditions. The exogenous application of BR and JA, separately or in combination, significantly alleviated the drought stress by improving photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic pigments, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate and antioxidant defence. We observed that concentration of different osmolytes increased and membrane damage significantly reduced by the application of BR and JA. The overall activity of antioxidant enzymes POD, CAT, GR, APX and CAT elevated during all the treatments, be it stress alone or in combination with BR and JA, compared to the control. However, we observed that the BR was much better in mitigating the drought stress compared to JA. Thus, the present study suggests that BR and JA supplementation improves the performance of B. rapa on exposure to drought stress, which hints at the critical role of BR and JA in improving crop productivity in drought-prone areas.