The Effect of Pythagorean Self-Awareness Intervention on Stress and Mental Health Characteristics of Civil Servants in Crete, Greece.

Evidence is limited regarding the effects of holistic programs on work-related stress, anxiety, and depressive symptomatology. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the Pythagorean Self-Awareness Intervention (PSAI) on stress and mental health characteristics of civil servants in Crete, Greece. This was a single arm interventional study with PSAI outcome evaluation. Validated, self-reported scales were used to assess stress and mental health characteristics (PSS, DASS, UCLA, RSE, and STAXI). Hair samples were obtained to measure cortisol concentrations as a biological stress marker. Paired-samples t-test or Wilcoxon tests were used to evaluate pre- and post-intervention measures. Overall, 48 civil servants (56.3% women, mean age 51 years) participated in the study. Statistically significant reductions were observed in all self-reported stress scales (p < 0.05). Although hair cortisol decreased, this difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.109). Statistically significant improvements were also observed on depressive symptomatology (p < 0.001), self-esteem (p < 0.001), loneliness (p < 0.001), self-efficacy (p = 0.002), and anger (p = 0.017). The PSAI appeared beneficial with respect to all self-reported outcomes. Larger studies including control groups and further follow-up evaluations are needed to ascertain these findings.

The plastid-encoded PsaI subunit stabilizes photosystem I during leaf senescence in tobacco.

PsaI is the only subunit of PSI whose precise physiological function has not yet been elucidated in higher plants. While PsaI is involved in PSI trimerization in cyanobacteria, trimerization was lost during the evolution of the eukaryotic PSI, and the entire PsaI side of PSI underwent major structural remodelling to allow for binding of light harvesting complex II antenna proteins during state transitions. Here, we have generated a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) knockout mutant of the plastid-encoded psaI gene. We show that PsaI is not required for the redox reactions of PSI. Neither plastocyanin oxidation nor the processes at the PSI acceptor side are impaired in the mutant, and both linear and cyclic electron flux rates are unaltered. The PSI antenna cross section is unaffected, state transitions function normally, and binding of other PSI subunits to the reaction centre is not compromised. Under a wide range of growth conditions, the mutants are phenotypically and physiologically indistinguishable from wild-type tobacco. However, in response to high-light and chilling stress, and especially during leaf senescence, PSI content is reduced in the mutants, indicating that the I-subunit plays a role in stabilizing PSI complexes.