Circadian variation in coaches' decision-making in the National Football League's evening games.

The aim of this study was to explore whether National Football League (NFL) coaches show variation in their decision-making on fourth down when traveling through time zones. Data from visiting teams in games from 20 seasons (2000-2020) of the NFL were retrieved from online sources ( = 5360 games). Decision-making was measured with the percentage of offensive plays on fourth down.

The relationship between sleep, perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and academic and sports performance in young athletes.

Perfectionism is associated with sleep as well as with academic and sports performance. Given the importance of sleep for performance and the sleep changes that occur during adolescence, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between sleep, two dimensions of perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns), with academic and sports performance in young athletes. The occurrence of perfectionistic strivings was identified as a tendency to set high personal standards for oneself, while the occurrence of perfectionistic concerns was identified as a tendency to feel pressure to be perfect and have concerns about imperfections.

Research Protocol for Sleep in Families With a Preterm Infant.

Background: Specificities regarding the quality and quantity of sleep of preterm infants and their parents following discharge of the preterm infant from the hospital are not well known. Given this lack of knowledge, the links between the sleep characteristics of these parents, family functioning, and their psychological well-being are also unclear.

Objectives: The purpose of this article is to summarize the research protocol of a cross-sectional, mixed-methods, convergent design study, which aims to evaluate the sleep patterns of preterm infants and both their parents and document the associations between sleep quality, parents' psychological well-being, and family functioning during the posthospitalization period.

Gender differences in the interference of sleep difficulties and daytime sleepiness on school and social activities in adolescents.

Objectives: During adolescence, changes in the circadian and homeostatic systems, combined with psychosocial factors, create a phase delay in the sleep of adolescents. These changes in sleep are associated with increased sleep difficulties and a shortened sleep duration, which has a negative impact on daytime functioning of adolescents. Some studies showed that teenage girls report worse sleep quality and shorter sleep duration than boys during adolescence.

Sleeping through a Lockdown: How Adolescents and Young Adults Struggle with Lifestyle and Sleep Habits Upheaval during a Pandemic.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between chronotype, lifestyle habits during the pandemic, and changes in sleep timing during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in youth.

Method: An online survey of adolescents and young adults (N = 449) was conducted in June 2020. Multivariate hierarchical regressions assessed the contribution of chronotype and changes in lifestyle habits to sleep timing during the COVID-19 pandemic in two age groups (12 to 17 years old and 18 to 25 years old).

Interindividual differences in energy intake after sleep restriction: The role of personality and implicit attitudes toward food.

Sleep restriction (SR) often leads to an increase in energy intake (EI). However, large variability in EI after SR is often observed, which suggests that individual characteristics may affect food intake. The objective of this study was to explore the influence of characteristics generally associated with risk-taking (sensitivity to reward and personality traits: impulsiveness, sensation seeking) and implicit attitudes toward food on EI after sleep loss.

COVID-19 and sleep patterns in adolescents and young adults.

Objective: In March 2020, the world experienced a global pandemic, which involved the shutdown of schools or a transposition to remote teaching in most countries. The objective of the present study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic related lockdown on sleep patterns and sleep quality in adolescents and young adults.

Methods: An online survey was conducted in June 2020 with adolescents and young adults (n = 498) aged 12-25 years.

The association between REM sleep and decision-making: Supporting evidences.

Studies suggest that REM sleep is important for the maintenance of prefrontal cortex functioning. Therefore, reducing REM sleep may have an impact on cognitive functions such as impulse control and decision-making processes. This study examined the association between impulsiveness and sensation seeking personality traits, REM sleep and performance on a decision-making computer task following a habitual night of sleep and a partial sleep deprivation (PSD) condition with advanced wake-up time.

Three-Dimensional Thermodynamic Simulation of Condensin as a DNA-Based Translocase.

Chromatin dynamics and organization can be altered by condensin complexes. In turn, the molecular behavior of a condensin complex changes based on the tension of the substrate to which condensin is bound. This interplay between chromatin organization and condensin behavior demonstrates the need for tools that allows condensin complexes to be observed on a variety of chromatin organizations.

The effects of partial sleep restriction and altered sleep timing on olfactory performance.

Olfaction can increase the drive to eat and may partially explain the consistent increases in energy intake (EI) following sleep restriction. We investigated the effects of 50% sleep restriction with altered sleep timing on olfactory performance. We also evaluated whether changes (Δ) in olfactory performance were associated with Δ24 h EI.

Greater circadian disadvantage during evening games for the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL) and National Football League (NFL) teams travelling westward.

We investigated the effects of a circadian disadvantage (i.e. playing in a different time zone) on the winning percentages in three major sport leagues in North America: the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the National Football League.

The effects of partial sleep restriction and altered sleep timing on appetite and food reward.

Unlabelled: We examined the effects of partial sleep restriction (PSR) with an advanced wake-time or delayed bedtime on measures of appetite, food reward and subsequent energy intake (EI). Twelve men and 6 women (age: 23 ± 4 years, body fat: 18.8 ± 10.

Validation of sleep-2-Peak: A smartphone application that can detect fatigue-related changes in reaction times during sleep deprivation.

Despite its high sensitivity and validity in the context of sleep loss, the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) could be improved. The aim of the present study was to validate a new smartphone PVT-type application called sleep-2-Peak (s2P) by determining its ability to assess fatigue-related changes in alertness in a context of extended wakefulness. Short 3-min versions of s2P and of the classic PVT were administered at every even hour during a 35-h total sleep deprivation protocol.

The effects of sleep restriction and altered sleep timing on energy intake and energy expenditure.

Experimental evidence suggests that sleep restriction increases energy intake (EI) and may alter energy expenditure (EE). However, it is unknown whether the timing of a sleep restriction period impacts EI and EE the following day. Hence, we examined the effects of sleep restriction with an advanced wake-time or delayed bedtime on next day EI and EE.

Using Computational Modeling To Optimize the Design of Antibodies That Trap Viruses in Mucus.

Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies that trap viruses in cervicovaginal mucus (CVM) via adhesive interactions between IgG-Fc and mucins have recently emerged as a promising strategy to block vaginally transmitted infections. The array of IgG bound to a virus particle appears to trap the virus by making multiple weak affinity bonds to the fibrous mucins that form the mucus gel. However, the antibody characteristics that maximize virus trapping and minimize viral infectivity remain poorly understood.

APBSmem: a graphical interface for electrostatic calculations at the membrane.

Electrostatic forces are one of the primary determinants of molecular interactions. They help guide the folding of proteins, increase the binding of one protein to another and facilitate protein-DNA and protein-ligand binding. A popular method for computing the electrostatic properties of biological systems is to numerically solve the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation, and there are several easy-to-use software packages available that solve the PB equation for soluble proteins.

Attention and non-REM sleep in neuroleptic-naive persons with schizophrenia and control participants.

The relationship between sleep architecture and attentional performance was evaluated in neuroleptic-naive patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Participants were recorded in a sleep laboratory for two consecutive nights after which selective and sustained attention performance was tested. In both groups of participants, Spearman's rho statistics revealed a negative correlation between reaction time on the selective attention task and sleep spindle density.

Image processing for IMRT QA dosimetry.

We have automated the determination of the placement location of the dosimetry ion chamber within intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) fields, as part of streamlining the entire IMRT quality assurance process. This paper describes the mathematical image-processing techniques to arrive at the appropriate measurement locations within the planar dose maps of the IMRT fields. A specific spot within the found region is identified based on its flatness, radiation magnitude, location, area, and the avoidance of the interleaf spaces.

Evening and morning EEG differences between young men and women adults.

Evening and morning waking EEG (eyes closed) was recorded in 16 women and 13 men aged 18-26 years old. Participants were fitted with a 13-electrode montage (Fp1, Fp2, FZ, F7, F8, C3, C4, T3, T4, P3, P4, O1, and O2) referred to linked ears. For each recording electrode, EEG total spectral amplitude power (microV/Hz, 0.

Sleep architecture and its clinical correlates in first episode and neuroleptic-naive patients with schizophrenia.

The goal of the present study was to characterize sleep organization in first episode and neuroleptic-naive patients with schizophrenia and to evaluate relationships between those sleep parameters and clinical symptoms. Eleven patients with acute schizophrenia never treated with neuroleptics were compared to 11 healthy controls. Sleep stages and phasic events (sleep spindles and rapid-eye-movements during REM sleep (REMs) were visually identified.

Rhodococcus equi and cytomegalovirus pneumonia in a renal transplant patient: diagnosis by fine-needle aspiration biopsy.

Rhodococcus equi is a common cause of pneumonia in animals. Human infection is rare. Increasing number of cases are being reported in immunosuppressed individuals mostly associated with HIV infection, but also in solid organ transplant recipients and leukemia/lymphoma patients.

Effects of sleep deprivation on performance and EEG spectral analysis in young adults.

Nine totally sleep deprived (TSD) and nine control subjects were evaluated with a complete battery for attention and memory performance. Frontal and temporal EEGs (5 min, eyes closed) were also recorded before and after the night. TSD subjects exhibited three performance deficits: learning the Pursuit Rotor Task, implicit recall of paired words, and distractibility on the Brown-Peterson Test.

Sequence of human tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO2): presence of a glucocorticoid response-like element composed of a GTT repeat and an intronic CCCCT repeat.

Abnormalities in serotonin levels have been implicated in a wide range of psychiatric disorders. Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase is the rate-limiting enzyme in the catabolism of tryptophan, the precursor of serotonin. As such it is a potential major candidate gene in psychiatric genetics.