Should night shifts be discouraged in (post)menopausal female hospital workers? [Honours College Research Project]

Night shifts are known to severely disrupt biological rhythmicity, which has been linked to a plethora of health adversities. The menopause similarly disrupts biological rhythmicity and has its own slew of negative health effects. With health care as the largest employer of night shift work and its workforce consisting for a significant part of menopausal women, a substantial amount of female hospital workers have to work night shifts during or after their menopause. As disturbances in biological rhythmicity have been shown to be able to stack, these women might be at increased risk, making it unfavourable for menopausal hospital workers to work night shifts. Through semi-structured interviews, this research collected the experiences of eight menopausal hospital workers with night shifts and analysed these for striking results or patterns. The interviews brought forward that individual variation and with it the freedom of choice were paramount in scheduling night shifts during or after the menopause. Therefore, night shifts should not generally be discouraged in menopausal hospital workers. However, further research should be done into the possible connections between the menopause and working night shifts, as many factors are still unknown

Should night shifts be discouraged in (post)menopausal female hospital workers? [Honours College Research Project]

Night shifts are known to severely disrupt biological rhythmicity, which has been linked to a plethora of health adversities. The menopause similarly disrupts biological rhythmicity and has its own slew of negative health effects. With health care as the largest employer of night shift work and its workforce consisting for a significant part of menopausal women, a substantial amount of female hospital workers have to work night shifts during or after their menopause. As disturbances in biological rhythmicity have been shown to be able to stack, these women might be at increased risk, making it unfavourable for menopausal hospital workers to work night shifts. Through semi-structured interviews, this research collected the experiences of eight menopausal hospital workers with night shifts and analysed these for striking results or patterns. The interviews brought forward that individual variation and with it the freedom of choice were paramount in scheduling night shifts during or after the menopause. Therefore, night shifts should not generally be discouraged in menopausal hospital workers. However, further research should be done into the possible connections between the menopause and working night shifts, as many factors are still unknown

Studying a Total Solar Eclipse in Multiple Wavelengths from a Near-Space Platform

The total solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, gave the high-altitude ballooning community an exceptional opportunity to study lighting conditions in the stratosphere during a total solar eclipse across multiple portions of the spectrum. Sensors on balloon platforms flown in Oregon and Nebraska measured changes in the sky’s overhead intensity at wavelengths ranging from 940 nm (Infrared A, also know as near infrared (NIR)) to 280 nm (Ultraviolet B, also called UVB) during partial eclipse and totality. The moon’s shadow was imaged in near infrared and the Earth’s horizon was imaged in thermal infrared, also known as far infrared (FIR). Intensity measurements at various wavelengths were made using Neulog Light, UVA, and UVB modules, as well using as a LED-based photometer (a Forest Mims design) to study the intensity of eight colors spanning the spectrum from 940 nm infrared to the violet/ultraviolet boundary (400 nm). A Mobius ActionCam was modified for recording NIR, while blocking visible light. A microcontroller/servo combination was use to trigger a Seek Reveal thermal camera for the horizon experiment. Preliminary analysis suggests that the sky’s overhead intensity shows no apparent effect based on wavelength – a somewhat unexpected result. Swinging of the photometer suggests that future measurements should incorporate a sun sensor. The NIR images of the Moon’s shadow are very clear – NIR light is more effective at penetrating the haze of the atmosphere than visible light. There is no evidence in the thermal imager of the eclipse shadow affecting the surface temperature of the Earth

Exploring the Application of NLP in Narrative Patterns of Adult Attachment

The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is a protocol-based, semi-structured interview method widely used to measure adults’ states of mind with respect to attachment. Recently, transcripts of this interview have been used to code secure base script knowledge, which is script-like knowledge related to the way parents dealt with their distress during childhood (ie., child went to parent for comfort, parent provided instrumental and emotional support, child went back to play). Manually coding the verbatim transcripts is labor-intensive and requires a lot of centralized training. The potential integration of machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) techniques may automate certain aspects of AAI analysis, potentially optimizing the process. The aim of this research project is to explore the practical application of these technologies in analyzing AAI transcripts.The project uses data from a pooled set of 12 studies originating from four countries. Upon reviewing the 1,410 AAI transcripts in this set (conducted in three languages), notable discrepancies in the administration of the interviews emerged, some of which may affect the suitability of the interview to assess secure base script knowledge. The first focus of this research project is therefore to develop a model to automatically assess the quality of the transcripts, first for English studies and then for all studies and languages. This model will prioritize evaluating interview characteristics, including instances of unintelligibility and non-adherence to the prescribed AAI protocol. As a next step in the project, employing sentiment analysis will enable an investigation into the correlation between participant-provided adjectives and their corresponding narratives. Finally, this research project will explore the possibility of automatically coding secure base script knowledge in AAI transcripts. By combining technological advances with nuanced human insights, this research project not only provides a pathway toward research studies at scale, but also presents an opportunity to achieve a deeper understanding of emotional and cognitive dimensions within attachment narratives.<br/

Psychophysiological responses underlying unresolved loss and trauma in the Adult Attachment Interview

Unresolved loss/trauma in the context of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) has been theorised to result from dissociative processing of fear-related memories and ideas. To examine the plausibility of this model, this study tested hypothesised associations between unresolved loss/trauma and indicators of autonomic nervous system (ANS) reactivity. First-time pregnant women (N = 235) participated in the AAI while heart rate (interbeat interval; IBI) and indicators of parasympathetic reactivity (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and sympathetic reactivity (pre-ejection period; PEP, skin conductance level; SCL) were recorded. Using multilevel modelling, ANS reactivity was examined in relation to topic (loss/trauma versus other questions); discussion of actual loss/trauma; classification of unresolved/disorganised; and unresolved responses during the interview. Responses to loss/trauma questions and discussion of loss were associated with respectively larger and smaller IBIs. There was no moderation by unresolved/disorganised status. Unresolved responses about loss were associated with smaller IBIs. Participants classified as unresolved/disorganised showed decreasing PEP and blunted SCL throughout the whole interview. The findings suggest that unresolved speech about loss co-occurs with physiological arousal, although the inconclusive findings regarding parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system responses fail to clearly support the role of fear

Coping of older adults in times of Covid-19: considerations of temporality among dutch older adults

Objectives: Globally, mitigation measures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have focused on protecting older adults. Earlier disaster studies have shown the importance of including older peoples’ voices to prevent secondary stressors, yet these voices have received little attention during this pandemic. Here, we explore how Dutch older adults view this crisis and cope with measures to contribute to our understanding of coping of older adults in general and during disaster situations more specifically.Method: Qualitative study using semistructured telephone interviews with 59 diverse older adults aged 54–95 throughout the Netherlands.Results: Older adults typify this crisis as ungraspable, disrupting their daily and social lives. Despite filling their lives with activities, they experience loss or lack of purpose. They try to follow measures to decrease infection risk and gain control, and use problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies. Emotion-focused strategies used were interpreting their personal vulnerability, self-enhancing comparisons, acceptance, and distraction. In the latter 2 strategies, the temporary nature of measures was emphasized.Discussion: Older adults describe this crisis consistently with earlier findings from disaster studies. They use known coping strategies, but emphasize the duration in relation to their expectation of temporality. This underscores a dynamic, proces- sual approach toward coping that incorporates temporal dimensions such as duration and order. Our findings stress the importance of acknowledging heterogeneity among older adults and adjusting communication about mitigation measures to decrease insecurity and increase resonance. This may make COVID-19 mitigation measures more manageable and age- responsible and allow older adults to start living again.Prevention, Population and Disease management (PrePoD)Public Health and primary car

Doc2 Proteins Are Not Required for the Increased Spontaneous Release Rate in Synaptotagmin-1-Deficient Neurons

Regulated secretion is controlled by Ca 2+ sensors with different affinities and subcellular distributions. Inactivation of Syt1 (synaptotagmin-1), the main Ca 2+ sensor for synchronous neurotransmission in many neurons, enhances asynchronous and spontaneous release rates, suggesting that Syt1 inhibits other sensors with higher Ca 2+ affinities and/or lower cooperativities. Such sensors could include Doc2a and Doc2b, which have been implicated in spontaneous and asynchronous neurotransmitter release and compete with Syt1 for binding SNARE complexes. Here, we tested this hypothesis using triple-knock-out mice. Inactivation of Doc2a and Doc2b in Syt1-deficient neurons did not reduce the high spontaneous release rate. Overexpression of Doc2b variants in triple-knock-out neurons reduced spontaneous release but did not rescue synchronous release. A chimeric construct in which the C2AB domain of Syt1 was substituted by that of Doc2b did not support synchronous release either. Conversely, the soluble C2AB domain of Syt1 did not affect spontaneous release. We conclude that the high spontaneous release rate in synaptotagmin-deficient neurons does not involve the binding of Doc2 proteins to Syt1 binding sites in the SNARE complex. Instead, our results suggest that the C2AB domains of Syt1 and Doc2b specifically support synchronous and spontaneous release by separate mechanisms. (Both male and female neurons were studied without sex determination)