Showed Symptoms Of Stress Research Articles

Resilience and Psychological Distress among UiTM Medical Students: The transitional gap

The medical course is known to be demanding and critical. However, the relationship between resilience and medical students' psychological distress is barely known. This study investigated resilience and psychological distress among third-year UiTM medical students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 166 medical students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in 2019, assessing resilience and psychological distress. The mean score of resilience was 26.6. The study found that 38.0% had depressive symptoms, 31.9% reported anxiety, and 70.5% showed stress symptoms. A higher level of resilience was significantly associated with lower psychological distress. Keywords: resilience, psychological distress, medical students. eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.3706

Alleviation of cadmium phytotoxicity in triacontanol treated Coriandrum sativum L. by modulation of physiochemical attributes, oxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidative system

Cadmium (Cd) is a hazardous metal that has a significant risk of transfer from soil to edible parts of food crops including shoots and seeds. Reduction of Cd accumulation is required to lower the risk of Cd exposure in humans and animals feeding on metal contaminated parts of such plants. Coriandrum sativum L. (coriander) exposed to Cd showed stress symptoms such as stunted growth, reduced photosynthetic activity and synthesis of chlorophyll pigments. Growth inhibition in Cd-treated plants was attributed to induction of oxidative stress as demonstrated by higher level of stress biomarkers such as electrolyte leakage, lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide. Primary objective of the current study was to observe the ameliorative role of triacontanol (Tria) in Cd-stressed coriander seedlings. For this purpose, coriander seeds were primed with Tria concentrations of 5, 10, and 20 μmol L−1. Seedlings developed from Tria treated seeds exhibited reduced loss of photosynthetic pigments; mitigated oxidative stress caused by Cd, through improved efficacy of antioxidant machinery comprising superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POX), and catalase (CAT) enzymes besides non-enzymatic antioxidants including proline, phenolics and flavonoids. Triacontanol treated seedlings showed enhanced yield attributes suggesting that exogenous Tria could be employed to improve plant tolerance to Cd stress.

Assessment of air pollution at the indoor environment of a shooting range using lichens as biomonitors

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to examine the changes in ecophysiological parameters and accumulation of heavy metals in lichens transplanted to a shooting-range environment. Thalli of the epiphytic lichen were transplanted from an unpolluted site to a shooting range. Chlorophyll a fluorescence, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and damage to cell membranes in the lichen Evernia prunastri and Ramalina farinacea thalli were determined after 3 months exposure period indoors in a shooting range. The concentrations of some heavy metals including cadmium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, antimony, and zinc were measured in lichens as indicators of the levels of air pollution in the studied environment. Thalli of the lichens transplanted to the shooting-range environment showed stress symptoms where the presence of metal pollutants produced a loss of integrity of lichen cell membranes and induced oxidative stress as evidenced by increased levels of TBARS. The response of lichens transplanted to indoors of shooting range demonstrated a significant accumulation of Pb indicating potential increased metal exposure and consequent adverse health effects.

Differential Regulation of Stomatal Conductance as a Strategy to Cope With Ammonium Fertilizer Under Ambient Versus Elevated CO2

While nitrogen (N) derived from ammonium would be energetically less expensive than nitrate-derived N, the use of ammonium-based fertilizer is limited by the potential for toxicity symptoms. Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that exposure to elevated CO2 favors ammonium assimilation in plants. However, little is known about the impact of different forms of N fertilizer on stomatal opening and their consequent effects on CO2 and H2O diffusion in wheat plants exposed to ambient and elevated CO2. In this article, we have examined the response of the photosynthetic machinery of durum wheat (Triticum durum, var. Amilcar) grown with different types of N fertilizer (NO3−, NH4+, and NH4NO3) at 400 versus 700 ppm of CO2. Alongside gas exchange and photochemical parameters, the expression of genes involved in CO2 (PIP1.1 and PIP2.3) and H2O (TIP1) diffusion as well as key C and N primary metabolism enzymes and metabolites were studied. Our results show that at 400 ppm CO2, wheat plants fertilized with ammonium as the N source had stress symptoms and a strong reduction in stomatal conductance, which negatively affected photosynthetic rates. The higher levels of PIP1.1 and PIP2.3 expression in ammonium-fertilized plants at 400 ppm CO2 might reflect the need to overcome limitations to the CO2 supply to chloroplasts due to restrictions in stomatal conductance. This stomatal limitation might be associated with a strategy to reduce ammonium transport toward leaves. On the other hand, ammonium-fertilized plants at elevated CO2 did not show stress symptoms, and no differences were detected in stomatal opening or water use efficiency (WUE). Moreover, similar gene expression of the aquaporins TIP1, PIP1.1, and PIP2.3 in ammonium-fertilized plants grown at 700 ppm compared to nitrate and ammonium nitrate plants would suggest that an adjustment in CO2 and H2O diffusion is not required. Therefore, in the absence of a stress context triggered by elevated CO2, ammonium- and ammonium nitrate-fertilized plants were able to increase their photosynthetic rates, which were translated eventually into higher leaf protein content.

Soil water potential and recoverable water stress in drought tolerant and susceptible rice varieties

We conducted a two-year field experiment to determine if water stress could be exploited to recover yield in one drought resistant (Vandana) and three susceptible (IR36, IR72 and Swarna) rice varieties. Stress was induced in active tillering, flowering and grain filling stages by suspending irrigation until the soil became sufficiently dry and plants began to show stress symptoms when irrigation was resumed, such that plants could recover from stress. We observed that terminal soil water potential (SWP) as low as −110kPa in the active tillering stage was less detrimental to relative water content, proline content, and electrolyte leakage. A 27% rise in the level of stress led to ∼8%, 44% and 21% increase in yield in IR36, Vandana and Swarna. The possible causes are 23%, 39% and 10% increase in the corresponding root biomass of the varieties, resulting in higher water uptake in the vegetative stage treatment plots. This was further supported by high correlations between yield and terminal SWP in this treatment. Critical limits of SWP may be identified to exploit the potential of rice varieties to sustain or improve yield under water stress. Results also suggest an opportunity to design a water saving strategy in lowland rice production.

Remediation of nutrient-rich waters using the terrestrial plant, Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.

Effective control of eutrophication is generally established through the reduction of nutrient loading into waterways and water bodies. An economically viable and ecologically sustainable approach to nutrient pollution control could involve the integration of retention ponds, wetlands and greenways into water management systems. Plants not only play an invaluable role in the assimilation and removal of nutrients, but they also support fauna richness and can be aesthetically pleasing. Pandanus amaryllifolius, a tropical terrestrial plant, was found to establish well in hydrophytic conditions and was highly effective in remediating high nutrient levels in an aquatic environment showing 100% removal of NO−3-N up to 200 mg/L in 14 days. Phosphate uptake by the plant was less efficient with 64% of the PO−4-P removed at the maximum concentration of 100 mg/L at the end of 6 weeks. With its high NO−3-N and PO3−4-P removal efficiency, P. amaryllifolius depleted the nutrient-rich media and markedly contained the natural colonization of algae. The impediment of algal growth led to improvements in the water quality with significant decreases in turbidity, pH and electrical conductivity. In addition, the plants did not show stress symptoms when grown in high nutrient levels as shown by the changes in their biomass, total soluble proteins and chlorophyll accumulation as well as photochemical efficiency. Thus, P. amaryllifolius is a potential candidate for the mitigation of nutrient pollution in phytoremediation systems in the tropics as the plant requires low maintenance, is tolerant to the natural variability of weather conditions and fluctuating hydro-periods, and exhibit good nutrient removal capabilities.

A straw-soil co-composting and evaluation for plant substrate in BLSS

Material closure is important for the establishment of Bioregenerative Life Support System, and many studies have focused on transforming candidate plant residues into plant culture medium. For the limitations of using wheat straw compost as substrate for plant cultivation, a straw-soil co-composting technique was studied. The changes of pH, C/N value, germination index, cellulose, lignin and so on were monitored during the co-composting process. The maturity was evaluated by the C/N value and the germination index. The result showed that after 45days’ fermentation, the straw-soil final co-compost with inoculation (T1) became mature, while the co-compost without inoculation (T0) was not mature. In the plant culture test, the T1 substrate could satisfy the needs for lettuce’s growth, and the edible biomass yield of lettuce averaged 74.42gpot−1 at harvest. But the lettuces in T0 substrate showed stress symptoms and have not completed the growth cycle. Moreover, the results of nitrogen (N) transformation experiment showed that about 10.0% and 3.1% N were lost during the T1 co-composting and plant cultivation, respectively, 23.5% N was absorbed by lettuce, and 63.4% N remained in the T1 substrate after cultivation.

Effects of CO2 gas as leaks from geological storage sites on agro-ecosystems

Abstract Carbon capture and storage in geological formations has potential risks in the long-term safety because of the possibility of CO 2 leakage. Effects of leaking gas, therefore, on vegetation, soil, and soil-inhabiting organisms are critical to understand. An artificial soil gassing and response detection field facility developed at the University of Nottingham was used to inject CO 2 gas at a controlled flow rate (1 l min −1 ) into soil to simulate build-up of soil CO 2 concentrations and surface fluxes from two land use types: pasture grassland, and fallow followed by winter bean. Mean soil CO 2 concentrations was significantly higher in gassed pasture plots than in gassed fallow plots. Germination of winter bean sown in gassed fallow plots was severely hindered and the final crop stand was reduced to half. Pasture grass showed stress symptoms and above-ground biomass was significantly reduced compared to control plot. A negative correlation ( r = −0.95) between soil CO 2 and O 2 concentrations indicated that injected CO 2 displaced O 2 from soil. Gassing CO 2 reduced soil pH both in grass and fallow plots ( p = 0.012). The number of earthworm castings was twice as much in gassed plots than in control plots. This study showed adverse effects of CO 2 gas on agro-ecosystem in case of leakage from storage sites to surface.

Biomassa e atividade microbianas do solo sob influência de chumbo e da rizosfera da soja micorrizada

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da adição de chumbo (Pb) ao solo na biomassa e atividade microbianas do solo sob influência da rizosfera de soja micorrizada. O trabalho foi realizado em casa de vegetação, com delineamento inteiramente casualizado num esquema fatorial 4x2x2 utilizando-se 0, 150, 300 e 600 mg dm-3 de Pb, inoculação ou não do fungo micorrízico arbuscular (FMA), Glomus macrocarpum, e duas épocas de amostragem - florescimento e maturação da soja. Avaliaram-se o C da biomassa microbiana, a liberação de CO2 do solo e a atividade de três enzimas, desidrogenase, fosfatase alcalina e arilssulfatase. O Pb afetou negativamente o C da biomassa e a atividade da microbiota rizosférica, ocorrendo interação entre a presença de propágulos de FMA e o estádio de desenvolvimento da planta. A atividade da fosfatase alcalina foi a mais afetada pelas altas concentrações de Pb adicionadas ao solo, com redução de 60% na sua atividade, mostrando-se um indicador sensível do estresse metabólico da comunidade microbiana do solo causado pelo excesso de chumbo. A micorrização da soja influenciou de forma direta a microbiota rizosférica, resultando em maior atividade e biomassa, principalmente no estádio de maturação da soja. A microbiota do solo apresentou sintomas de estresse decorrentes da adição de chumbo.

Exigências do trabalho, prevalência de dor muscular e de sintomas de estresse em estagiários do setor de cobrança de um banco internacional

OBJECTIVE: to understand work demands, prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and stress symptoms on trainees of the collect section of an international bank, located in São Paulo. METHODS: Ergonomic work analysis, global and systematic observations, interviews with supervisors, manager and trainees, questionnaires answered voluntarily by the trainees. RESULTS: The objective of the collect section was to avoid that clients with high risk became debtors, as well as to collect from clients who owe the bank money. The aim was 11000 clients attended monthly. The section worked with receptive and active telemarketing. There were 67 trainees and 5 supervisors. Almost all the trainees worked in fixed shifts of 6 hours daily, with one break of 30 minutes and they did overtime. 85% were female, 83,7% had ages ranging from 18 and 23 years. All of them were at least college students. 98,6% were single, without children. 68,8% had less than one year on the job. 97 % of the trainees showed stress symptoms. The most frequent symptoms were: inability to relax or detach from work (63,0%), fatigue (50,7%), sleep disorders (41,8%), irritability (36,9%), strain (35,4%), cry easily (29,2%), hopelessness (23,9%), imnsonia (21,5%), to sweat without making physical efforts or when it was not hot (21,5%), sadness (20,0%). Concerning the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain 50,7% reported not having and 49,3% reported having. The location of the pain was: back pain 30,3%, shoulders 45,5%, neck 66,7%, elbows 12,1% and wrist/hands 30,3%. The relationship between the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain and stress symptoms was: trainees who had stress symptoms but not musculoskeletal pain 50,7%, trainees who had musculoskeletal pain but not stress symptoms 3,0%, trainees who had both stress symptoms and musculoskeletal pain 46,3%.

Isolation of photorespiratory mutants from Lotus japonicus deficient in glutamine synthetase.

A mutagenesis programme using ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS) was carried out on Lotus japonicus (Regel) Larsen cv. Gifu in order to isolate photorespiratory mutants in this model legume. These mutants were able to grow in a CO2-enriched atmosphere [0.7% (v/v) CO2] but showed stress symptoms when transferred to air. Among them, three mutants displayed low levels of glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) activity in leaves. The mutants accumulated ammonium in leaves upon transfer from 0.7% (v/v) CO2 to air. F1 plants of back crosses to wild type were viable in air and F2 populations segregated 3 : 1 (viable in air : air-sensitive) indicative of a single Mendelian recessive trait. Complementation tests showed that the three mutants obtained were allelic. Chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel used to separate the cytosolic and plastidic GS isoenzymes together with immunological data showed that: (1) mutants were specifically affected in the plastidic GS isoform, and (2) in L. japonicus the plastidic GS isoform eluted at lower ionic strength than the cytosolic isoform, contrary to what happens in most plants. The plastidic GS isoform present in roots of wild type L. japonicus was also absent in roots of the mutants, indicating that this plastidic isoform from roots was encoded by the same gene than the GS isoform expressed in leaf tissue. Viability of mutant plants in high-CO2 conditions indicates that plastidic GS is not essentially required for primary ammonium assimilation. Nevertheless, mutant plants did not grow as well as wild type plants in high-CO2 conditions.

Genetic engineering of plant chilling tolerance.

Many plants from tropical and subtropical regions show stress symptoms when grown at low, nonfreezing temperatures. These chilling-sensitive species include crop plants such as cassava, cotton, soybean, maize, rice, tomato, sugarcane and pepper. Many of these crops are grown in regions more temperate than their tropical origins. Despite the best agricultural practices, in these temperate regions, unanticipated low temperatures will injure such plants and can drastically reduce crop yields. At least once every three years chilling damage to crops in California, Florida or other regions of the United States are extensive enough to be reported as headline news. About 14% of the indemnities paid for crop loss coverage between 1939 and 1978 were due to cold (chilling and freezing) damage and in crops such as sweet corn, fresh tomatoes, sorghum hybrid seed, sugarcane and peppers, this damage accounted for between 65 and 87% of the total loss for each crop (1).

The Effect of Salinity on Strawberry Stress and Growth on Two Soil Types

Plants of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa cv. Tristar) of the same size were grown in 4-inch plastic plots either containing sand or organic soil mix. Plants were watered with solutions of 10, 25, and 50 mM of NaCl, and some with distilled water used as control. Under sunny conditions, the chlorophyll fluorescence measurements indicated that plants growing in sandy soil with 50 and 25 mM of NaCI with Fv/Fm values less than 0.40 tend to show salinity stress after 10 days with 50 mM NaCI, and after 15 days with 25 mM NaCI. Plants grown in organic soil mix do not show stress symptoms at any of the given NaCI concentrations. Plants growing under cloudy days do not show stress symptoms, whether or not the plants were grown in sandy soil or organic soil mix. No significant differences were detected on the total average shoot and root dry weights of plants grown in sandy soils and organic soil mix. However, highly significant differences was detected on the total average shoot dry weight growing under organic soil mix. These data indicate that organic matter reduces the effect of Na+ and Cl– on strawberry plant growth by decreasing the physiological stress during bright, sunny days. Plant tissue analysis shows that plants grown in organic soil mix absorb far less Na+ and Cl– than in sandy soil. Also, it does seem that strawberry plants can tolerate low concentrations of NaCI ions in the soil solution.