INFLUENCE OF ABIOTIC STRESS FACTORS ON THE HYDRATION OF PLANT TISSUES OF SEDUM HYBRIDUM L. (AIZOPSIS HYBRIDA (L.) GRULICH)

Genus Sedum (family Crassulaceae) - succulents adapted to lack of moisture. Morphophysiological reactions of immature Sedum hybridum L. (Aizopsis hybrida (L.) Grulich) plants to stressful conditions of water scarcity, salinization and low positive temperatures are described. The high resistance of plants to the studied stress effects is shown. The tendency of the dynamics of the highest moisture loss by plants of the control group and the lowest by plants cultivated at PEG–6000 at a concentration of 200 mmol/l was noted, which indicates the adaptive effect of this level of osmotic stress on Sedum hybridum plants. To obtain a completely dry Sedum hybridum mass for various physiological experiments, it is necessary to maintain the plant material at a temperature of 105⸰ C, with at least 40 hours.

Evidence for the dependence of the SARS-Cov-2 Delta high diffusivity on the associated N:G215C nucleocapsid mutation

The continuous evolution of the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome and the consequent substitutions observed in the amino acid sequences, can induce significant changes in parameters such as diffusivity and pathogenicity, and causes constant concern regarding the efficacy of vaccines against the new variants in circulation. In recent months there has been an increase in the number of infections first in India, and more recently in the United Kingdom. The genome sequencing of the samples showed that this increase coincided with the emergence of a new variant, B.1.617.2, also known as VOC Delta. This variant is rapidly becoming dominant in several countries, causing increasing concern for its extreme diffusivity and its ability to often overcome the vaccines. The high diffusivity of this variant is normally ascribed to the Spike protein mutations. However, we will show here that it is rather due to the nucleocapsid substitution N:G215C. This is made clear by comparing, in the genomic sequences available on the GISAID database, the relative increase of the Delta variant with and without the associated N:G215C substitution. Once the extreme diffusivity of the Delta variant with associated nucleocapsid aminoacidic substitution is evidenced, we tentatively explain it as possibly due to the adaptive effect of the highly selective environment in Countries with high levels of vaccination.

Action Video Gaming Experience Related to Altered Resting-State EEG Temporal and Spatial Complexity

Action video gaming (AVG) places sustained cognitive load on various behavioral systems, thus offering new insights into learning-related neural plasticity. This study aims to determine whether AVG experience is associated with resting-state electroencephalogram (rs-EEG) temporal and spatial complexity, and if so, whether this effect is observable across AVG subgenres. Two AVG games – League of Legends (LOL) and Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds (PUBG) that represent two major AVG subgenres – were examined. We compared rs-EEG microstate and omega complexity between LOL experts and non-experts (Experiment 1) and between PUBG experts and non-experts (Experiment 2). We found that the experts and non-experts had different rs-EEG activities in both experiments, thus revealing the adaptive effect of AVG experience on brain development. Furthermore, we also found certain subgenre-specific complexity changes, supporting the recent proposal that AVG should be categorized based on the gaming mechanics of a specific game rather than a generic genre designation.

Repetition Suppression in Visual and Auditory Modalities Affects the Sound-Induced Flash Illusion

Sound-induced flash illusion (SiFI) refers to the illusion that the number of visual flashes is equal to the number of auditory sounds when the visual flashes are accompanied by an unequal number of auditory sounds presented within 100 ms. The effect of repetition suppression (RS), an adaptive effect caused by stimulus repetition, upon the SiFI has not been investigated. Based on the classic SiFI paradigm, the present study investigated whether RS would affect the SiFI differently by adding preceding stimuli in visual and auditory modalities prior to the appearance of audiovisual stimuli. The results showed the auditory RS effect on the SiFI varied with the number of preceding auditory stimuli. The hit rate was higher with two preceding auditory stimuli than one preceding auditory stimulus in fission illusion, but it did not affect the size of the fusion illusion. However, the visual RS had no effect on the size of the fission and fusion illusions. The present study suggested that RS could affect the SiFI, indicating that the RS effect in different modalities would differentially affect the magnitude of the SiFI. In the process of multisensory integration, the visual and auditory modalities had asymmetrical RS effects.

Mental Health, Well-Being, and Psychological Flexibility in the Stressful Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study investigated the relationships between selected emotional aspects of mental ill-health (depression, anxiety, and stress, DASS) and mental well-health (well-being) experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical model of the study was based on Martin Seligman’s positive psychology and PERMA theory and Paul Wong’s Existential Positive Psychology 2.0 Theory, which postulates that negative experiences contribute to well-being and personal growth. The static approach was complemented by exploring the mediating role of psychological flexibility (defined as acceptance and action in the current situation) in the relationship between negative emotions and well-being. The data were collected during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic from 277 participants (221 women), aged M = 33.83, SD = 12.77. The results confirmed that negative emotions correlated negatively with various domains of well-being (PERM), except for accomplishment (completing tasks and fulfill daily responsibilities). Moreover, negative emotions were related to the general well-being through psychological flexibility in that higher depression, anxiety, and stress were associated with lower psychological flexibility, which decreased general well-being. Finally, negative emotions were shown to be beneficial, having an adaptive effect that allows individuals to maintain their ability to cope with the situation, reach goals, and fulfill daily duties and responsibilities despite critical, stressful situation (like the COVID-19 pandemic) that limit their psychological flexibility. This observation confirmed the positive potential of negative aspects of life postulated within Existential Positive Psychology.

Peer presence increases adolescents' prosocial behavior by speeding the evaluation of rewards for others

Peer presence can elicit maladaptive adolescent decision-making, potentially by increasing sensitivity to the rewards one receives. It remains unknown whether peer presence also increases adolescents' sensitivity to others' rewards, which could have an adaptive effect in contexts allowing pro-social behaviors. Here, we combine social utility modeling and real-time decision process modeling to characterize how peer presence alters adolescents' processing of self and other rewards. We found that adolescents behaved selfishly when privately allocating rewards for themselves and a peer in an incentive-compatible task. In peer presence, however, adolescents became more altruistic. Real-time estimates of reward processing collected using computer mouse tracking showed that altruistic behavior was associated with relatively earlier processing of peer-rewards relative to self-rewards, such that peer presence sped peer-reward processing without altering self-reward processing. Our results indicate a causal mechanism through which peer presence prompts greater prosocial behavior by altering how adolescents process prosocial outcomes.

Sodium Influx and Potassium Efflux Currents in Sunflower Root Cells Under High Salinity

Helianthus annuus L. is an important oilseed crop, which exhibits moderate salt tolerance and can be cultivated in areas affected by salinity. Using patch-clamp electrophysiology, we have characterized Na+ influx and K+ efflux conductances in protoplasts of salt-tolerant H. annuus L. hybrid KBSH-53 under high salinity. This work demonstrates that the plasma membrane of sunflower root cells has a classic set of ionic conductances dominated by K+ outwardly rectifying channels (KORs) and non-selective cation channels (NSCCs). KORs in sunflower show extreme Na+ sensitivity at high extracellular [Ca2+] that can potentially have a positive adaptive effect under salt stress (decreasing K+ loss). Na+ influx currents in sunflower roots demonstrate voltage-independent activation, lack time-dependent component, and are sensitive to Gd3+. Sunflower Na+-permeable NSCCs mediate a much weaker Na+ influx currents on the background of physiological levels of Ca2+ as compared to other species. This suggests that sunflower NSCCs have greater Ca2+ sensitivity. The responses of Na+ influx to Ca2+ correlates well with protection of sunflower growth by external Ca2+ in seedlings treated with NaCl. It can be, thus, hypothesized that NaCl tolerance in sunflower seedling roots is programmed at the ion channel level via their sensitivity to Ca2+ and Na+.

Research on Music Adaptive Method Based on Dance Robots

Music adaptive method, one of the important directions of dance robot research, will improve the robot's intelligence and adaptive ability, thereby greatly enriching people's growing spiritual and cultural life. From the current point of view, an overly complex adaptive method used, a large amount of computer resources will be encroached on, and the dance robot system will freeze or even crash. The dance robot is a kind of embedded device. Under the premise of saving system resources, how to make the robot do different actions according to different music and how to make it produce movements in step with the music will become a hot topic in the research of robot adaptive methods. This paper proposes a dance robot adaptive method based on music analysis. After the music signal is preprocessed, a reasonable threshold range is set to obtain music features. Through the feature and coordinate transformation, the action duration is obtained, alternative actions are selected, and action frequency is set to achieve the coordination of amplitude change and action switching. Experiments have shown that with this method used on a dance robot, the system runs smoothly featuring coordinated movement, hence a better adaptive effect.

Features of the sensitivity of the central nervous system of the organism of experimental animals to the effects of certain psychotropic drugs and their combinations against the background of chronic alcohol intoxication in a chronopharmacological experiment

In a chronopharmacological experiment, the effect of two drugs with psychotropic action in combinations on the behavior of laboratory animals subjected to chronic alcohol intoxication was examined. Against the background of a deprimating agent, a decrease in the threshold of sensitivity to electrical irritation and the duration of an aggressive reaction was revealed; an increase in these indicators was established with a combination of a deprimating drug with an antioxidant. It has been shown that the antioxidant has a desynchronizing effect on the behavioral reactions of laboratory animals for two days, which indicates a pronounced adaptive effect. In the case of using combinations of a deprimating agent with an antioxidant, a decrease in the destruction of the histological structure of the myocardium against the background of chronic alcoholization was established.