Evaluation of Sleep Practices and Knowledge in Neonatal Healthcare.

Background: Developmental care is designed to optimize early brain maturation by integrating procedures that support a healing environment. Protecting preterm sleep is important in developmental care. However, it is unclear to what extent healthcare professionals are aware of the importance of sleep and how sleep is currently implemented in the day-to-day care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Electroencephalographic sleep macrostructure and sleep spindles in early infancy.

Study Objectives: Sleep features in infancy are potential biomarkers for brain maturation but poorly characterized. We describe normative values for sleep macrostructure and sleep spindles at 4-5 months of age.

Methods: Healthy term infants were recruited at birth and had daytime sleep electroencephalograms (EEGs) at 4-5 months.

Hg-Xe exciplex formation in mixed Xe/Ar matrices: molecular dynamics and luminescence study.

Luminescence of Hg((3)P1) atoms trapped in mixed Ar/Xe matrices containing a small amount of Xe is reported. Broad emission bands, strongly red-shifted from absorption are recorded which are assigned to strong complexes formed between the excited mercury Hg* and xenon atoms. Molecular dynamics calculations are performed on simulated Xe/Ar samples doped with Hg to follow the behavior of Hg* in the mixed rare gas matrices leading to exciplex formation.

Investigations of the optical spectroscopy of atomic sodium isolated in solid argon and krypton: experiments and simulations.

The absorption spectra of thin film samples, formed by the codeposition of sodium vapor with the rare gases have long been known to consist of complex structures in the region of the atomic sodium "yellow-doublet" lines. The photophysical characteristics of the associated luminescence (excitation/emission) spectra, indicate strong interaction between the excited P state Na atom and the rare gases (Ar, Kr, and Xe) used as host solids. This system is reinvestigated with new experimental spectroscopic results and molecular dynamics (MD) calculations.

Luminescence spectroscopy of matrix-isolated atomic manganese: excitation of the "forbidden" a6D(J)<-->a6S transitions.

Laser-induced excitation spectra recorded for the electric-quadrupole 3d(6)4s a6D(J)<--3d(5)4s2a6S(5/2) transitions of atomic Mn, allow assignment of the red emission features, previously observed in Mn/RG (RG=Ar, Kr and Xe) matrices with resonance 3d(5)4s4pz6P(5/2)<--3d(5)4s2 a6S(5/2) excitation, to the metastable a6D(9/2) state. Narrow excitation bands recorded for the red site in the Mn/Kr system allow identification of all five spin-orbit levels (J=1/2, 3/2, 5/2, 7/2 and 9/2) in the a6D state. The coincidence of the lowest energy excitation band and the observed 585.