The fear of COVID-19 and flourishing: the mediating role of search for meaning and presence of meaning.

Past researches have found that sense of control and meaning in life can act as a protective factor against fear of COVID-19 pandemic. The current study examined whether the search for meaning and the presence of meaning could mediate the link between fear of COVID-19 and flourishing. A total of 312 Iranians who were identified by snowball sampling were recruited as the subjects of the cross-sectional study. The participants gave their consent to complete the Meaning in Life Scale, Flourishing Scale, and Fear of COVID-19 Scale. The findings demonstrated that fear of COVID-19 had a significant direct effect on flourishing. The presence meaning was positively and significantly connected with flourishing and the search for meaning. Both the search for - and the presence - of meaning were negatively and significantly linked with fear of COVID-19. Mediation analysis demonstrated that a presence of meaning is a protective factor for flourishing, but the search for meaning can be detrimental to flourishing. As a result, it may be worthwhile to conduct longitudinal research to track how the effects of the presence of meaning and the search for meaning vary over time. The study calls on mental health providers to take into account how the presence of meaning might lessen the negative impacts of fear in crisis situations and promote flourishing.

The Fear of COVID-19 and Flourishing: Assessing the Mediating Role of Sense of Control in International Students.

The present study investigates the mediating role of sense of control in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and flourishing. A cross-sectional study design was employed and a total of 368 international students studying in Turkey consented to voluntarily take part in the study. The participants who were identified using convenience sampling completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, Flourishing Scale, and Sense of Control Scale after providing written informed consent. Results indicated that sense of control was positively correlated with fear of COVID-19 and flourishing. It was also observed that a negative correlation was found between the fear of COVID-19 and flourishing. Mediation analysis revealed that sense of control partially mediates the association between fear of COVID-19 and flourishing. The study encourages mental health professionals to consider the role of sense of control in their psychological interventions to reduce fear of COVID-19 and enhance flourishing among international students.

Asymmetric Versus Symmetric Filter Wheels and Associated Processing Algorithms: Results from Asynchronous Fluorescence Imaging Photometer Measurements of Phytoplankton.

The use of rotating filter wheels is common in photometric applications. Traditional filter wheel designs typically exhibit a number of filter openings spaced evenly about the circumference of the wheel. In this work we examine a number of shortcomings of this traditional filter design in measurements of phytoplankton fluorescence made with our fluorescence imaging photometer (FIP). We present an alternative asymmetric wheel design that offers a number of advantages over the traditional design as well as a new processing algorithm designed to accommodate convolution of signals from adjacent channels inherent in measurements collected with the asymmetric design. This approach eliminates the need for a separate signal to establish timing and wheel position, unambiguously establishes filter order even when the direction of rotation is unknown, allows for better estimates of signal baseline, and is more resilient to effects of vibration and other dynamic processes that could occur on the time scale of wheel rotation. We demonstrate performance improvements for phytoplankton fluorescence measurements associated with the new wheel design and algorithm compared with previously published methods using the FIP. Both the improved image processing algorithm and filter wheel design were found to reduce noise in our measurements significantly.

Single-Cell and Bulk Fluorescence Excitation Signatures of Seven Phytoplankton Species During Nitrogen Depletion and Resupply.

Phytoplankton play a vital role as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. One common approach to classifying phytoplankton is fluorescence excitation spectroscopy, which leverages the variation in types and concentrations of pigments among different phytoplankton taxonomic groups. Here, we used a fluorescence imaging photometer to measure excitation ratios ("signatures") of single cells and bulk cultures of seven differently pigmented phytoplankton species as they progressed from nitrogen N-replete to N-depleted conditions. Our objective was to determine whether N depletion alters the fluorescence excitation signature of each species and, if so, how quickly they recover when N (as nitrate) was resupplied, because these factors affect our ability to classify the species correctly. Of the seven species studied, only Proteomonas sulcata, a marine cryptophyte, showed measurable changes in single-cell fluorescence excitation ratios and bulk fluorescence excitation spectra. These changes were likely due to decreases in the cellular concentration of phycoerythrin, a N-rich pigment, as N became scarce. Within 3 h of resupply of N, fluorescence signatures began returning to pre-depletion values and were indistinguishable from N-replete cells by 80 h after resupply. These data suggest that our classification approach is robust for non-PE containing phytoplankton. PE-containing phytoplankton might exhibit systematic changes in their signatures depending on their level of N depletion, but this could be detected and the phytoplankton re-classified following a few hours of incubation in N replete conditions.