The effectiveness of warning statements in reducing careless responding in crowdsourced online surveys.

Carelessness or insufficient effort responding is a widespread problem in online research, with estimates ranging from 3% to almost 50% of participants in online surveys being inattentive. While detecting carelessness has been subject to multiple studies, the factors that reduce or prevent carelessness are not as well understood. Initial evidence suggests that warning statements prior to study participation may reduce carelessness, but there is a lack of conclusive high-powered studies.

Smartphone app aesthetics influence users' experience and performance.

Past research has demonstrated that aesthetics affect users' experiences in various ways. However, there is little research on the impact of interface aesthetics on user performance in a smartphone app context. The present paper addresses this research gap using an online experiment ( = 281).

Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Prevalence and Comorbidity with Other Non-communicable Diseases and HIV Infection, among Hospitalized Patients in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Background: Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), a growing public health threat, is an emerging condition in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Related SSA studies have so far used an incomplete definition. This study is aimed at assessing SAS using an American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) complete definition and at exploring its relationship with comorbidities, among patients hospitalized in a Cameroonian tertiary hospital.

Fear and depression during the COVID-19 outbreak in Cameroon: a nation-wide observational study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with significant psychological and social distress worldwide. We investigated fear and depression among adults in Cameroon during different phases of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Methods: An online survey was conducted in Cameroon from June-December 2020 using a structured questionnaire.

COVID-19 Preventive Behaviours in Cameroon: A Six-Month Online National Survey.

Since March 2020, the Cameroonian government implemented nationwide measures to stall COVID-19 transmission. However, little is known about how well these unprecedented measures are being observed as the pandemic evolves. We conducted a six-month online survey to assess the preventive behaviour of Cameroonian adults during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Actigraphy Sleep Score: A New Biomarker for Diagnosis, Disease Staging, and Monitoring in Human African Trypanosomiasis.

Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) remains a serious public health problem with diagnostic and treatment challenges in many African countries. The absence of a gold-standard biomarker has been a major difficulty for accurate disease staging and treatment follow-up. We therefore attempted to develop a simple, affordable, and noninvasive biomarker for HAT diagnosis and staging.

Trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) predicts short- and long-term mortality and poor neurological outcome in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients.

Objectives: Prior research found the gut microbiota-dependent and pro-atherogenic molecule trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) to be associated with cardiovascular events as well as all-cause mortality in different patient populations with cardiovascular disease. Our aim was to investigate the prognostic value of TMAO regarding clinical outcomes in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Methods: We included consecutive OHCA patients upon intensive care unit admission into this prospective observational study between October 2012 and May 2016.

Association of Taurine with In-Hospital Mortality in Patients after Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: Results from the Prospective, Observational COMMUNICATE Study.

Background: Studies have suggested that taurine may have neuro- and cardio-protective functions, but there is little research looking at taurine levels in patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Our aim was to evaluate the association of taurine with mortality and neurological deficits in a well-defined cohort of OHCA patients.

Methods: We prospectively measured serum taurine concentration in OHCA patients upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the University Hospital Basel (Switzerland).

Association of acyl carnitines and mortality in out-of-hospital-cardiac-arrest patients: Results of a prospective observational study.

Purpose: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a leading cause of mortality, yet the prediction of its outcome remains challenging. Serum Acyl Carnitines (ACs), a biomarker of beta-oxidation, have been associated with cardiovascular events. We evaluated the association of different AC species with mortality and neurological outcome in a cohort of OHCA patients.

Code status discussions in medical inpatients: results of a survey of patients and physicians.

Introduction: Code status discussions are useful for understanding patients’ preferences in the case of a cardiac/pulmonary arrest. These discussions can also provide patients with a basis for informed decision-making regarding life-sustaining treatment. We conducted a survey to understand current practices and perceptions of code status discussions in a tertiary-care Swiss hospital.

Low Plasma Sphingomyelin Levels Show a Weak Association with Poor Neurological Outcome in Cardiac Arrest Patients: Results from the Prospective, Observational COMMUNICATE Trial.

There is interest in novel blood markers to improve risk stratification in patients presenting with cardiac arrest. We assessed associations of different plasma sphingomyelin concentrations and neurological outcome in patients with cardiac arrest. In this prospective observational study, adult patients with cardiac arrest were included upon admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Reducing the use of screen electronic devices in the evening is associated with improved sleep and daytime vigilance in adolescents.

The use of screen electronic devices in the evening negatively affects sleep. Yet, sleep is known to be essential for brain maturation and a key factor for good academic performance, and thus is particularly critical during childhood and adolescence. Although previous studies reported associations between screen time and sleep impairment, their causal relationship in adolescents remains unclear.

Distinct locomotor control and awareness in awake sleepwalkers.

Sleepwalkers' complex nocturnal behaviors have inspired fictional characters from Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth to Polidori's Vampyre to Cesare, the homicidal somnambulist in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. Yet although the underlying pathophysiology of sleepwalking, i.e.

[Practical approach of insomnia in the elderly].

Elderly people often suffer from insomnia which is responsible for high comorbidity and lower quality of life in this population. Somatic and psychiatric pathologies must be screened as primary sleep disorders. Chronic sleep disorders and benzodiazepine abuse might be avoided by an early treatment of causal factors.

Increased Reward-Related Behaviors during Sleep and Wakefulness in Sleepwalking and Idiopathic Nightmares.

Background: We previously suggested that abnormal sleep behaviors, i.e., as found in parasomnias, may often be the expression of increased activity of the reward system during sleep.

Underlying Mechanisms for Coexisting Central and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Nocturnal PaCO2 and Poor Sleep Quality Are Key Issues.

Coexisting central and obstructive sleep apnea is a challenging clinical situation. We report a case exhibiting an overnight shift from obstructive to central events. The central sleep apnea component was related to sleep instability, hyperventilation and low nocturnal PaCO2.

Reliability of Apnea-Hypopnea Index Measured by a Home Bi-Level Pressure Support Ventilator Versus a Polysomnographic Assessment.

Background: Ventilators designed for home care provide clinicians with built-in software that records items such as compliance, leaks, average tidal volume, total ventilation, and indices of residual apnea and hypopnea. Recent studies have showed, however, an important variability between devices regarding reliability of data provided. In this study, we aimed to compare apnea-hypopnea indices (AHI) provided by home ventilators (AHINIV) versus data scored manually during polysomnography (AHIPSG) in subjects on noninvasive ventilation (NIV) for obesity-hypoventilation syndrome.

Response to statin therapy in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Rationale: Accumulated evidence implicates sympathetic activation as inducing oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, which in turn lead to hypertension, endothelial dysfunction, and atherosclerosis in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Statins through their pleiotropic properties may modify inflammation, lipid profile, and cardiovascular outcomes in OSA.

Methods: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind study compared the effects of atorvastatin 40 mg/day versus placebo over 12 weeks on endothelial function (the primary endpoint) measured by peripheral arterial tone (PAT).

Gait abnormalities in obstructive sleep apnea and impact of continuous positive airway pressure.

We aimed to determine the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on gait in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Gait during single and dual tasks was recorded in 15 OSA patients at baseline and after 8 weeks of CPAP therapy. Step and stance time improved after CPAP.

Spectral analysis of the sleep onset period in primary insomnia.

Objective: To compare the EEG power spectra characteristics of the sleep onset period (SOP) in patients with sleep onset insomnia (SOI), sleep maintenance insomnia (SMI) and good sleepers (GS).

Methods: The time course of EEG power density (1-40Hz) during the SOP was examined in thirty subjects (SOI patients: N=10, SMI patients: N=10, GS: N=10).

Results: The EEG power of the beta2 frequency band (18-29.

Friedrich Nietzsche and his illness: a neurophilosophical approach to introspection.

There are some arguments that Friedrich Nietzsche suffered from the autosomal dominant vascular microangiopathy: Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). Here, a hypothesis is formulated supporting that CADASIL presenting with symptoms of bipolar disorder and Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome would contribute to the increased insight and creativity of a philosopher whose perceptions and intuitions often bear out the results of modern neuroscience. Alterations of the brain default and reward networks would account for such an increased level of introspection and creativity.

Patient machine interface for the control of mechanical ventilation devices.

The potential of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to translate brain activity into commands to control external devices during mechanical ventilation (MV) remains largely unexplored. This is surprising since the amount of patients that might benefit from such assistance is considerably larger than the number of patients requiring BCI for motor control. Given the transient nature of MV (i.