No Difference in Stress Level Based on Physical Activity During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Parents of School-Aged Children

Stress levels among children and parents have been heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with related changes in school structure. Regular physical activity (PA) represents a way to decrease stress levels and improve overall mood. Thus, regular PA is even more important during this period of prolonged stress as the pandemic continues to affect communities. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in stress levels among parents of school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic based upon physical activity patterns. METHODS: Parents (n = 115, 91% female, 91% White) of school-aged children in the United States participated in surveys regarding their stress levels and physical activity. Stress levels were determined by the Perceived Stress Scale and dichotomized into Low Stress or Moderate/High Stress. To determine level of physical activity, participants also completed the Recreational and Sedentary portions of the WHO\u27s Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (7 questions). They were then dichotomized into “met” or “did not meet” World Health Organization’s recommendations for weekly physical activity (150 minutes moderate PA (MPA), 70 minutes of vigorous PA (VPA), or 600 MET*minutes). Perceived stress levels were analyzed using a chi-square test to determine any differences between the two groups based upon each WHO recommendation for physical activity (MPA, VPA, MET*minutes). RESULTS: A total of 47% of parents perceived themselves as having low stress while 53% reported moderate/high stress. A majority of parents did not meet WHO PA recommendations for weekly MPA (63%) nor VPA (64%) but did meet recommendations for weekly MET*min (59%). All chi-square tests were non-significant (MPA: Χ2 = .246, df = 1, p = .620; VPA: Χ2 = 3.422, df = 1, p = .064; MET*min: Χ2 = 1.361, df = 1, p = .243). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that there was no significant difference in perceived stress levels based upon physical activity among parents of school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of intensity of the physical activity. Even with the known positive benefits of PA to decrease stress, PA was not significantly associated with reduced stress levels among parents of school-aged youth. This finding could reflect stress exceeding normal levels due to the novel and unknown nature of the pandemic. It is also possible that PA did have a positive impact on stress levels but was too small to significantly counteract the abnormal increase in perceived stress. However, PA is still important for adults, including parents of school-aged youth, during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the numerous other health benefits it can provide beyond reducing stress levels

Environmental characterization and yield gap analysis to tackle genotype-by-environment-by-management interactions and map region-specific agronomic and breeding targets in groundnut

The high degree of Genotype by Environment by Management (GxExM) interactions is a serious challenge for production and crop improvement efforts. This challenge is especially true for a crop like groundnut that is often grown as a rainfed crop in diverse environments and management, leading to considerable production fluctuations among regions and seasons. Developing a means to characterize the drivers of variable yield and to identify region specific breeding objectives were the main motivations for this research, using groundnut production in India, as a case study for rainfed crops. Historically, five groundnut production areas have been considered by Indian crop improvement programs. Our objectives were to assess the relevance of this zonation system and possibly to re-define production areas with a higher degree of similarities into homogeneous production units (HPUs). Towards this, we used yield gap analysis and the geo-biophysical characters of the production region to understand and deal with GxExM interactions. Weather and soil data, crop parameters, and management information data were collected and groundnut production was simulated at the district scale over 30 consecutive years. Consequently, the geographic distribution of the potential yields and the yield gaps were first estimated to understand the main production limitations in a given region. Large and variable yield gaps (with a mean of ~70 %) were observed and results revealed a readily exploitable production gap (~ 8 M tons), which might be bridged by following recommended agronomic practices. Water deficit limited the yield potential by an average of 40 %, although with large variability among districts. However, large and variable yield gaps remained. To resolve the unexplained variation, principal component and cluster analysis of agronomic model output together with geo-biophysical indicators for each district were carried out. This resulted in seven HPUs, having well-defined production-limiting constraints. Grouping by HPU greatly reduced variance in actual and simulated yields, as compared to grouping across all groundnut production zones in India. The HPU based approach delimited precise geographic regions within which HPU-specific GxM products could be designed by crop improvement programs to boost productivity

Process Forces During Friction Stir Welding of Aluminium Alloys

Flow and consolidation of the material under the tool shoulder and subsequent nugget formation are among the least understood aspects of friction stir welding and processing (FSW/P). Welding parameters and tool profile impact the process forces acting on the tool. This work is an observational study of the process forces associated with bead on plate runs on two aluminium alloys, 6061 and F357. Polar plots of the resultant forces acting on the tool spindle are analysed and correlated to the process parameters. The dependence of the nugget\u27s width with various heat indices is evaluated

Comparison of intrathecal 2-chloroprocaine with bupivacaine in short surgical procedures

Background: In the post-Lidocaine spinal era, which went into oblivion owing to TNS, there is a need to substitute its alternative, Bupivacaine, in short surgeries to overcome its limitations. 2-Chloroprocaine is a recent introduction with claims of fast onset and recovery as spinal anaesthetic. The aim of the study is to compare the effect of spinal anaesthesia in short surgical procedures (surgeries lasting <60 minutes) between 0.5 % Bupivacaine (Hyperbaric, 7.5 mg) and 1% Chloroprocaine (40mg). Method: A prospective, randomized controlled study was undertaken with 90 patients of ASA physical status I or II undergoing short surgeries consisting of GROUP C(n=45) who received 4 ml 1% 2-Chloroprocaine (40 mg), and GROUP B(n=45) who received 1.5 ml 0.5% Hyperbaric Bupivacaine, (7.5 mg). Patients were observed for hemodynamic stability, degree and adequacy of sensory / motor block, duration of analgesia and adverse effects. For continuous variables, the summary statistics of mean± standard deviation (SD) were used. Chi-square (χ2) test was used for association between two categorical variables. Results: Mean time of onset of sensory block (Group C-1.6 ± 0.7 min, Group B-2.6 ± 0.8 min) and motor block (Group C-2.7 ± 1.0 min, Group B-3.3 ± 1.0 min) were comparable. Duration of sensory block was 113.9±13.3min (Group C), 168.0±13.1min (Group B) (p<0.001); duration of motor block was 92.7±11.2 min (Group C), 140.1±12.2 min (Group B) (p<0.001); duration of analgesia before any rescue dose was 132.5±12.2 min (Group C), 194.1±12.7 min (Group B) (p<0.001). No statistical significant differences were noted in the hemodynamic parameters between two groups at different intervals. Conclusion: Chloroprocaine has comparable onset of sensory and motor block but faster recovery, making it near ideal spinal anaesthetic agent for short surgical procedures