The Role of Coping Humour in the Physical and Mental Health of Older Adults

Objectives - This study examined the associations among coping humor, other personal/social factors, and the health status of community-dwelling older adults. Method - Survey questionnaires were completed with 73 community dwelling older adults. Included were measures of coping humor, spirituality, self-efficacy, social support and physical and mental health status. Results - Correlations across all variables showed coping humor to be significantly associated with social support, self-efficacy, depression, and anxiety. Forward stepwise regression analyses showed that coping humor and self-efficacy contributed to outcome variance in measures of mental health status. Contrary to expectation, neither social support nor spirituality contributed to the total outcome variance on any of the dependant measures. Conclusion - The importance of spirituality, self-efficacy and social support in determining the quality of life of older adults is well supported in the literature. Coping humor as a mechanism for managing the inevitable health stresses of aging has received less attention. This study shows that coping humor and self efficacy are important factors for explaining health status in older adults. Correlations among coping humor, self efficacy, and social support suggest that a sense of humor may play an important role in reinforcing self-efficacious approaches to the management of health issues.coping humor, aging, health status

Dynamic reorganization of vortex matter into partially disordered lattices

We report structural evidence of dynamic reorganization in vortex matter in clean NbSe$_2$ by joint small angle neutron scattering and ac-susceptibility measurements. The application of oscillatory forces in a transitional region near the order-disorder transition results in robust bulk vortex lattice configurations with an intermediate degree of disorder. These dynamically-originated configurations correlate with intermediate pinning responses previously observed, resolving a long standing debate regarding the origin of such responses.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures. To be published in Physical Review Letter

Resilience Indicators of Post Retirement Well-Being

This study compares and contrasts criteria for determining how individuals cope with adverse life events during the aging process. From a pool of 140 interviews with older men and women who had experienced a significantly stressful life event (either widowhood or involuntary retirement), a cohort of 26 subject interviews were selected. In random order, interviews were rated on two dimensions: poor versus good financial status, and positive versus negative appraisals of stress events. Interviews continued to be rated until 13 met criteria for successful outcomes (good financial status and positive appraisals of experienced stress) and 13 more met criteria for unsuccessful outcomes (poor financial status and negative appraisals of stress). A second rater, blind to the initial classification, coded and classified the interviews on positive versus negative indicators of the availability of supportive interpersonal relationships . There was 69% agreement between the two classification systems on successful versus unsuccessful outcomes. On eight cases the raters disagreed in a consistent fashion; the first rater classified all eight cases as unsuccessful in contrast to the second rater who rated the same cases as successful. These eight cases were reassessed using an expanded coding system that targets indicators of resilience as predictors of well being. This descriptive reanalysis of the cases showed that all of the subjects were well aware of their limited financial status but had a balanced appraisal of life challenges overall. Analyses of their life narratives showed evidence of resilience (self-reliance, availability of close interpersonal relationships, accommodative modes of coping, internal control, perseverance, viewed change as a challenge, and a spiritual convergent view of mind, body, and soul in the face of adversity). In summary, while poor financial status has negative consequences for coping with major life transitions, aging individuals who are resilient and hardy and who apply a spiritual lens for understanding the meanings of adversity show greater capacity for achieving and maintaining well-being.retirement; aging

Alternate-current dynamic reorganization and nonequilibrium phase transition in driven vortex matter

Externally driven glassy systems may undergo nonequilibrium phase (NEPTs). In particular, ac-driven systems display special features, such as those observed in the vortex matter of NbSe2, where oscillatory drives reorganize the system into partially ordered vortex lattices. We provide experimental evidence for this dynamic reorganization and we show an unambiguous signature of its connection with an NEPT driven by ac forces. We perform a scaling analysis and we estimate critical exponents for this transition. Our results share similarities with some glass-to-viscous-liquid NEPTs and invite a search for similar physics in other elastic disordered media.Fil: Marziali Bermudez, Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Cugliandolo, L.F.. Université Pierre et Marie Curie; FranciaFil: Pasquini, Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires; Argentin

vanilla-option-pricing: Pricing and market calibration for options on energy commodities

Abstract The Python package vanilla-option-pricing implements procedures to price European vanilla options under the Black framework, using different stochastic models for the underlying asset. Currently, the geometric Brownian motion, the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process and a two-factor mean-reverting process are available. The library supports market calibration, providing tools to tune the parameters of the stochastic processes against a set of listed options. The intended audience for the package is made of researchers and practitioners interested in quantitative finance and energy derivatives

Biomonitoring of lake sediments using benthic macroinvertebrates

The Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) is an innovative piece of legislation aimed at protecting the quality of all continental and coastal waters in Europe through an ecological evaluation of the ecosystems. Since it is widely acknowledged that the greater the ecological realism the greater the difficulty of its definition, we describe the different uses of benthic organisms as a tool for assessing the quality of sediment in lakes. We review the responses from single species to the community. We focus on studies in the laboratory and in the field, and we also critically consider the use of predictive models for these evaluations. Our discussion of the information collected underlines the importance of the relation between sensitivity of single species and contaminants. Moreover, the recent approach in developing mechanistic models to predict the response of natural communities seems to be particularly powerful for community ecology, and we strongly recommend more effort along these lines

Urban planning tool and flood risk: A difficult relationship in Italy

This study underscores the limited integration of natural features in Italian local planning, despite approximately 30% of the territory facing hydrogeological risks. With heightened frequency of extreme events due to climate change, such incidents strain sewerage systems and often lead to waterway flooding. Focusing on the Reno River catchment area in central-northern Italy, the re- search examines the impact of municipal planning on ecosystem services, specifically urban flood risk mitigation and sediment management. While some plans acknowledge ecosystem services, stra- tegic implementation remains lacking. The study advocates for a more comprehensive integration of these services in local planning to ensure a resilient territory amid escalating climate change threats