Objektive Schläfrigkeitsmessung unter Alkoholeinfluss

Alkohol und Schläfrigkeit sind die wichtigsten fahrerbezogenen Faktoren bei der Entstehung von Autounfällen. Bislang gibt es relativ wenige konkrete Erkenntnisse über die schläfrigkeitsfördernde Wirkung von Alkohol. Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit sollte erstmals eine quantitative und objektive Analyse der (Tages-)Schläfrigkeit unter Alkoholeinfluss während der gesamten Alkoholumsetzungskurve erstellt werden. Mit dem pupillographischen Schläfrigkeitstest (PST) steht ein Verfahren zur Verfügung, mit dem es möglich ist, Schläfrigkeit unter Alkoholeinfluss quantitativ zu bestimmen. Diese Methode beruht auf der Vermessung der Pupille, deren Durchmesser der efferenten sympathischen Steuerung unterliegt. Bei zunehmender Schläfrigkeit lässt der sympathische Einfluss auf die Pupillenweite nach und es kommt zu typischen Oszillationen der Pupille. Diese Oszillationen, sogenannte „Fatigue Waves“, werden in einem ruhigen, abgedunkelten Raum mittels Infrarotkamera über 11 Minuten kontinuierlich aufgezeichnet und als Pupillen-Unruhe-Index (PUI) in mm / min ausgegeben. Für diesen Wert existieren Normwerte, welche eine Einteilung der PUI-Werte in „normal“, „erhöht“ und „pathologisch“ ermöglichen. Es wurde ein standardisiertes Kollektiv von 53 Probanden zwischen 20 und 60 Jahren untersucht. Dieses bestand aus 28 Männern und 25 Frauen. Die Probanden wurden wahlweise mit Bier oder Wein stufenweise unter Blutalkohohol-konzentrationen von annähernd 0,3, 0,5 und 0,8 ‰ gesetzt, die genaue BAK wurde jeweils durch Gaschromatographie und ADH-Methode bestimmt. Während dieser Anflutungsphase wurde bei jeder der drei Stufen die Schläfrigkeit bestimmt. Dies geschah zum einen mittels objektivem PST und zum anderen durch die subjektive Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS), eine siebenstufige Skala zur Einschätzung der eigenen Schläfrigkeit. In der Eliminationsphase der Alkoholumsetzungskurve wurde wiederum bei 0,5 und 0,3 ‰ sowohl die subjektive als auch die objektive Schläfrigkeit gemessen. Eine Kontrollgruppe von 11 Probanden aus dem genannten Kollektiv wurde zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt unter gleichen Bedingungen ohne Alkoholeinfluss untersucht. Im Ergebnis zeigte die Anflutungsphase zunächst ein signifikantes Absinken des PUI um 5,9 %, gleichbedeutend mit einer höheren Vigilanz. Im weiteren Verlauf war das Maximum der Schläfrigkeit in der Eliminationsphase bei einer verhältnismäßig geringen BAK von durchschnittlich 0,54 ‰ zu beobachten. Der PUI hatte sich im Vergleich zum Ausgangswert um durchschnittlich 17,4 % erhöht und 40,4 % der Probanden wiesen erhöhte oder pathologische Schläfrigkeitswerte auf. Dieser Anteil lag um hochsignifikante 110 % höher als bei der Ausgangsmessung. Insgesamt ließ sich keine Korrelation zwischen objektiver und subjektiver Schläfrigkeit feststellen, obwohl auch die subjektive Schläfrigkeit stieg. Das Maximum der subjektiven Schläfrigkeit fiel zusammen mit dem Maximum der Alkoholisierung von 0,8 ‰. Wirkung auf das Ausmaß der Schläfrigkeit hatten die Häufigkeit des Alkoholkonsums, der Body-Mass-Index (BMI) und das Geschlecht. Je häufiger die Probanden nach eigenen Angaben Alkohol tranken und je höher der jeweilige BMI war, desto geringer war der Einfluss des Alkohols auf die Schläfrigkeit. Mit der Eigenschaft „weibliches Geschlecht“ ging eine höhere objektive Schläfrigkeit einher, allerdings auch eine höhere subjektive Einschätzung der eigenen Schläfrigkeit. Ein Einfluss der Getränkeart ließ sich hingegen nicht nachweisen. Für die Abnahme der Vigilanz spielte es keine Rolle, ob dies durch Bier oder Wein verursacht worden war. Bedenklich erschien die Tatsache, dass zum einen die Probanden das Ausmaß der eigenen Schläfrigkeit sogar unter relativ geringer Alkoholisierung nicht adäquat einschätzen konnten, und dass zum anderen das Maximum der Schläfrigkeit – und damit auch des mutmaßlichen Unfallrisikos – in der Eliminationsphase lag. Ein Zeitpunkt, zu dem sicherlich die meisten Alkoholfahrten unternommen werden.

Sleepwalking in Parkinson's disease: a questionnaire-based survey

Sleepwalking (SW) corresponds to a complex sleep-associated behavior that includes locomotion, mental confusion, and amnesia. SW is present in about 10% of children and 2-3% of adults. In a retrospective series of 165 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), we found adult-onset ("de novo") SW "de novo" in six (4%) of them. The aim of this study was to assess prospectively and systematically the frequency and characteristics of SW in PD patients. A questionnaire including items on sleep quality, sleep disorders, and specifically also SW and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), PD characteristics and severity, was sent to the members of the national PD patients organization in Switzerland. In the study, 36/417 patients (9%) reported SW, of which 22 (5%) had adult-onset SW. Patients with SW had significantly longer disease duration (p = 0.035), they reported more often hallucinations (p = 0.004) and nightmares (p = 0.003), and they had higher scores, suggestive for RBD in a validated questionnaire (p = 0.001). Patients with SW were also sleepier (trend to a higher Epworth Sleepiness Scale score, p = 0.055). Our data suggest that SW in PD patients is (1) more common than in the general population, and (2) is associated with RBD, nightmares, and hallucinations. Further studies including polysomnographic recordings are needed to confirm the results of this questionnaire-based analysis, to understand the relationship between SW and other nighttime wandering behaviors in PD, and to clarify the underlying mechanisms.

Clinical, polysomnographic and genome-wide association analyses of narcolepsy with cataplexy: a European Narcolepsy Network study

The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and PSG characteristics of narcolepsy with cataplexy and their genetic predisposition by using the retrospective patient database of the European Narcolepsy Network (EU-NN). We have analysed retrospective data of 1099 patients with narcolepsy diagnosed according to International Classification of Sleep Disorders-2. Demographic and clinical characteristics, polysomnography and multiple sleep latency test data, hypocretin-1 levels, and genome-wide genotypes were available. We found a significantly lower age at sleepiness onset (men versus women: 23.74 ± 12.43 versus 21.49 ± 11.83, P = 0.003) and longer diagnostic delay in women (men versus women: 13.82 ± 13.79 versus 15.62 ± 14.94, P = 0.044). The mean diagnostic delay was 14.63 ± 14.31 years, and longer delay was associated with higher body mass index. The best predictors of short diagnostic delay were young age at diagnosis, cataplexy as the first symptom and higher frequency of cataplexy attacks. The mean multiple sleep latency negatively correlated with Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and with the number of sleep-onset rapid eye movement periods (SOREMPs), but none of the polysomnographic variables was associated with subjective or objective measures of sleepiness. Variant rs2859998 in UBXN2B gene showed a strong association (P = 1.28E-07) with the age at onset of excessive daytime sleepiness, and rs12425451 near the transcription factor TEAD4 (P = 1.97E-07) with the age at onset of cataplexy. Altogether, our results indicate that the diagnostic delay remains extremely long, age and gender substantially affect symptoms, and that a genetic predisposition affects the age at onset of symptoms.

Epilepsy and obstructive sleep apnea

A few publications documented the coexistence of epilepsy and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The extent, nature, and clinical relevance of this association remain poorly understood. We retrospectively reviewed the database of our sleep center to identify patients with both sleep apnea and epilepsy. Characteristics of epilepsy, sleep history, presence of excessive daytime sleepiness [Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)] and polysomnographic data were assessed. The effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on seizure reduction was prospectively analyzed after a median interval of 26 months (range: 2-116 months) from the diagnosis of OSA. OSA was found in 29 epilepsy patients (25 men and 4 women) with a median age of 56 years (range: 37-79). The median apnea hypopnea index was 33 (range: 10-85), the oxygen desaturation index was 12 (range 0-92), and 52% of the patients had an ESS score >10. In 27 patients, epilepsy appeared 1 month to 44 years prior to the diagnosis of OSA. In 21 patients, the appearance of OSA symptoms coincided with a clear increase in seizure frequency or the first appearance of a status epilepticus. Treatment with CPAP was continued with good compliance in 12 patients and led to a significant reduction of both ESS scores and seizure frequency in 4 patients. Our data suggest the importance of considering diagnosis and treatment of OSA in epilepsy patients with poor seizure control and/or reappearance of seizures after a seizure-free interval.

Sleep and wakefulness disturbances in Swiss pharmacy customers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbances are prevalent but often overlooked or underestimated. We suspected that sleep disorders might be particularly common among pharmacy customers, and that they could benefit from counselling. Therefore, we described the prevalence and severity of symptoms associated with sleep and wakefulness disorders among Swiss pharmacy customers, and estimated the need for counselling and treatment. METHODS: In 804 Swiss pharmacies (49% of all community pharmacies) clients were invited to complete the Stanford Sleep Disorders Questionnaire (SDQ), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (EPW). The SDQ was designed to classify symptoms of sleep and wakefulness into the four most prevalent disorders: sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS), insomnia in psychiatric disorders (PSY), periodic leg movement disorders/restless legs (RLS) and narcolepsy (NAR). Data were entered into an internet-linked database for analysis by an expert system as a basis for immediate counselling by the pharmacist. RESULTS: Of 4901 participants, 3238 (66.1%) were female, and 1663 (33.9%) were male. The mean age (SD) of females and males was 52.4 (18.05), and 55.1 (17.10) years, respectively. The percentages of female and male individuals above cut-off of SDQ subscales were 11.4% and 19.8% for sleep apnoea, 40.9% and 38.7% for psychiatric sleep disorders, 59.3% and 46.8% for restless legs, and 10.4% and 9.4% for narcolepsy respectively. The prevalence of an Epworth Sleepiness Scale score >11 was 16.5% in females, and 23.9% in males. Reliability assessed by Cronbach's alpha was 0.65 to 0.78 for SDQ subscales, and for the Epworth score. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms of sleep and wakefulness disorders among Swiss pharmacy customers were highly prevalent. The SDQ and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale score had a satisfactory reliability to be useful for identification of pharmacy customers who might benefit from information and counselling while visiting pharmacies. The internet-based system proved to be a helpful tool for the pharmacist when counselling his customers in terms of diagnostic classification and severity of symptoms associated with the sleeping and waking state.

Screening for sleep disorders in community pharmacies--evaluation of a campaign in Switzerland

BACKGROUND: In 2003 the Swiss federation of pharmacists organized a campaign "sleep disturbances--daytime sleepiness". The goal was to assist pharmacy clients in detecting likely causes of any sleep disturbance or daytime sleepiness through a free of charge screening, and to deliver targeted counselling. For pharmacy practice there are no screening or triage guidelines to assess the severity of sleep and wakefulness disturbances and potential causes for those disturbances. In this paper the outcome of the campaign in terms of feasibility, participation, observed response patterns, sale of over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping pills, and counselling activities is evaluated. METHODS: The Stanford sleep disorders questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale served to identify patterns of symptoms suggestive of four major categories of sleep disorders. The questionnaires were posted on a web-site and the clients' data were entered online in the pharmacies. A report was automatically generated and immediately available online to the pharmacists. The pharmacists documented separately their counselling activities in a pharmacist's activity report. RESULTS: Six hundred and twenty-two (23%) of 2743 pharmacy clients had response patterns suggestive of obstructive sleep apnoea, 418 (15%) of restless-legs-syndrome, 39 (1%) of a sleep disorder potentially associated with a psychiatric condition and 79 (3%) of narcolepsy. An Epworth sleepiness score >10 points was found in 567 (21%). After screening, 2345 (86%) pharmacy clients received targeted counselling. Only 216 (8%) purchased an OTC sleeping pill and 704 (26%) were recommended to consult a physician, but of these, 446 (63%) were already under medical supervision. CONCLUSIONS: The online screening tool for sleep disorders and daytime sleepiness was successfully introduced in Swiss pharmacies. Pharmacies were able to assess the pattern of individual sleep disorders and to identify a possible cause in nearly one-third of the cases.

Sleep-wake habits and disorders in a series of 100 adult epilepsy patients--a prospective study

The aim of the study was to assess sleep-wake habits and disorders and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in an unselected outpatient epilepsy population. Sleep-wake habits and presence of sleep disorders were assessed by means of a clinical interview and a standard questionnaire in 100 consecutive patients with epilepsy and 90 controls. The questionnaire includes three validated instruments: the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for EDS, SA-SDQ for sleep apnea (SA), and the Ullanlinna Narcolepsy Scale (UNS) for narcolepsy. Sleep complaints were reported by 30% of epilepsy patients compared to 10% of controls (p=0.001). The average total sleep time was similar in both groups. Insufficient sleep times were suspected in 24% of patients and 33% of controls. Sleep maintenance insomnia was more frequent in epilepsy patients (52% vs. 38%, p=0.06), whereas nightmares (6% vs. 16%, p=0.04) and bruxism (10% vs. 19%, p=0.07) were more frequent in controls. Sleep onset insomnia (34% vs. 28%), EDS (ESS >or=10, 19% vs. 14%), SA (9% vs. 3%), restless legs symptoms (RL-symptoms, 18% vs. 12%) and most parasomnias were similarly frequent in both groups. In a stepwise logistic regression model loud snoring and RL-symptoms were found to be the only independent predictors of EDS in epilepsy patients. In conclusion, sleep-wake habits and the frequency of most sleep disorders are similar in non-selected epilepsy patients as compared to controls. In epilepsy patients, EDS was predicted by a history of loud snoring and RL-symptoms but not by SA or epilepsy-related variables (including type of epilepsy, frequency of seizures, and number of antiepileptic drugs).

Is preeclampsia associated with restless legs syndrome?

OBJECTIVE Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a common neurologic disorder. Secondary RLS includes pregnancy and iron deficiency. Prevalence of RLS in pregnancy ranges from 11% to 27%. We aimed to assess the frequency and characteristics of RLS in pregnancy in a Peruvian population and to evaluate the possible pregnancy or delivery complications due to RLS. METHODS We assessed 218 consecutive expectant mothers at the inpatient clinic of the Hospital San Bartolome in Lima, Peru. Assessment was performed by using the standard diagnostic criteria for RLS and by using a clinical and diagnostic interview. Questionnaires for RLS severity, idiopathic RLS (IRLS), and excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) according to the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) were used. Blood examination was performed for hemoglobin and hematocrit. For comparison, RLS patients were matched for age and body mass index (BMI) with pregnant women without RLS. RESULTS Out of 218 patients, 40 (18.4%) fulfilled diagnostic criteria for RLS. In RLS patients, prophylactic iron supplementation therapy during pregnancy was less frequently taken (P=.02). Pregnant women with RLS had a higher ESS score than pregnant controls (10.6 +/- 3.1 vs 7.6. +/- 3.6; P<.001). Preeclampsia was more frequent in RLS (7/40 vs 1/39; P=.03). CONCLUSIONS In our study, RLS was frequent in pregnant Peruvian women, especially in those without prophylactic iron supplementation. RLS patients described more EDS. Preeclampsia was more common in RLS. Our study is the first study to indicate a possible association between RLS and preeclampsia.

The experience of insomnia among older women

Study Objectives: To measure sleeping difficulty and sleep quality among older women, explore experience and attitudes towards sleep, and test for negative association between difficulty sleeping and health-related quality of life. Design: Four-year longitudinal study. Setting: Women were participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Participants: Women were sampled according to use of sleeping medication and classified into 4 groups: sleeping badly and using sleeping medications; not sleeping badly, but using sleeping medications; sleeping badly, not using sleeping medications; not sleeping badly, not using sleeping medications. Interventions: None. Measurements and Results: Sleeping difficulty and sleeping-medication use were measured at Survey 1, Survey 2 (3 years later), and Survey 3 (4 years later). Survey 3 included: Nottingham Health Profile Sleep Subscale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale, Duke Social Support Index, Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36-item Health Survey, and a 21-item life events scale. Survey 3 was returned by 1011 women (84%). Sleeping problems were negatively associated with SF-36 subscale scores. Most associations remained significant after comorbid conditions, Geriatric Depression Scale, life events scores, and medication use were added to models. Most women with sleeping problems (72%) sought help from a doctor, and 54% used prescribed sleeping medications in the past month. Conclusions: Sleeping difficulty is a serious symptom for older women and is associated with poorer quality of life. Some of this effect can be explained by comorbidities, depression scores, life events, and use of sleeping medications.

Applying Associative Classifier PGN for Digitised Cultural Heritage Resource Discovery

Resource discovery is one of the key services in digitised cultural heritage collections. It requires intelligent mining in heterogeneous digital content as well as capabilities in large scale performance; this explains the recent advances in classification methods. Associative classifiers are convenient data mining tools used in the field of cultural heritage, by applying their possibilities to taking into account the specific combinations of the attribute values. Usually, the associative classifiers prioritize the support over the confidence. The proposed classifier PGN questions this common approach and focuses on confidence first by retaining only 100% confidence rules. The classification tasks in the field of cultural heritage usually deal with data sets with many class labels. This variety is caused by the richness of accumulated culture during the centuries. Comparisons of classifier PGN with other classifiers, such as OneR, JRip and J48, show the competitiveness of PGN in recognizing multi-class datasets on collections of masterpieces from different West and East European Fine Art authors and movements.

Influência do horário de trabalho, do gênero e de um programa de educação sobre o sono no ciclo sono/vigília de professores do ensino fundamental e médio

The teaching profession is often associated with extensive workload inside and outside the classroom, poor teaching conditions, among other challenges that can cause sleep problems. These problems may be even greater in women, due to the professional and domestic work hours and to the major sleep necessity. Considering that sleeping problems may result from the practice of poor sleep habits, sleep education programs are conducted with the aim to reduce sleep deprivation, irregularity on sleep schedules, daytime sleepiness and improve sleep quality. In this sense, the objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of working hours, gender and a sleep education program on sleeping habits, quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness and the level of stress in teachers of elementary and secondary education. For that, teachers filled the questionnaires that assessed: 1. Sleeping habits (Sleep & Health), 2. Chronotype (Horne & Ostberg), 3. Daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), 4. Sleep Quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index), 5. Level of stress (The Inventory of Stress for Adults of Lipp) and 6. Daily pattern of sleep/wake cycle (Sleep Diary). The questionnaires 1, 4, 5 and 6 were repeated 3 weeks after the sleep education program. Teachers who begin work in the morning (7:11 ± 0:11 h) wake up earlier in the week and often have poor sleep quality compared to those who start in the afternoon (13:04 ± 00:12 h). Among those who begin work in the morning, the intermediate types and those with an evening tendency were more irregular in the wake up time than morning types and increased sleep duration on weekend. In relation to gender, women had longer sleep duration than men, although the majority presented excessive daytime sleepiness and poor sleep quality. However, when work schedule and age are similar between genders, the difference in sleep duration becomes a tendency and the difference in the percentage of excessive daytime sleepiness disappears, but the poor sleep quality persists in women. With respect to teachers who have gone through the sleep education program, there was an increase in knowledge about the subject, which may have contributed to the reduction in the frequency of coffee consumption close to bedtime and to the sleep quality improved in 18 % of participants. In the control group, there were random differences in knowledge in 3rd stage, and sleep quality improved in only 9% of teachers. The participation in the sleep education program was not enough to change the hours of sleep and decrease stress of teachers. Therefore, the start time school in the morning was preponderant in determining the wake up time of teachers, especially for intermediates types and those with an evening tendency. Furthermore, the poor quality of sleep was more common in women, and the sleep education program contributed to increase knowledge on the subject and to improve sleep quality.

Influência do jet lag social em marcadores circadianos de atividade - repouso e cardíaco em estudantes de medicina

Studies reveal that in recent decades a decrease in sleep duration has occurred. Social commitments, such as work and school are often not aligned to the "biological time" of individuals. Added to this, there is a reduced force of zeitgeber caused by less exposure to daylight and larger exposure to evenings. This causes a chronic sleep debt that is offset in a free days. Indeed, a restriction and extent of sleep called "social Jet lag" occurs weekly. Sleep deprivation has been associated to obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular risk. It is suggested that the autonomic nervous system is a pathway that connects sleep problems to cardiovascular diseases. However, beyond the evidence demonstrated by studies using models of acute and controlled sleep deprivation, studies are needed to investigate the effects of chronic sleep deprivation as it occurs in the social jet lag. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of social jet lag in circadian rest-activity markers and heart function in medical students. It is a cross-sectional, observational study conducted in the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Biological Rhythmicity (LNRB) at the Department of Physiology UFRN. Participated in the survey medical students enrolled in the 1st semester of their course at UFRN. Instruments for data collection: Munich Chronotype Questionnaire, Morningness Eveningness Questionnaire of Horne and Östberg, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Actimeter; Heart rate monitor. Analysed were descriptive variables of sleep, nonparametric (IV60, IS60, L5 and M10) and cardiac indexes of time domain, frequency (LF, HF LF / HF) and nonlinear (SD1, SD2, SD1 / SD2). Descriptive, comparative and correlative statistical analysis was performed with SPSS software version 20. 41 students participated in the study, 48.8% (20) females and 51.2% (21) males, 19.63 ± 2.07 years. The social jet lag had an average of 02: 39h ± 00:55h, 82.9% (34) with social jet lag ≥ 1h and there was a negative correlation with the Munich chronotype score indicating greater sleep deprivation in subjects prone to eveningness. Poor sleep quality was detected in 90.2% (37) (X2 = 26.56, p <0.001) and 56.1% (23) excessive daytime sleepiness (X2 = 0.61, p = 0.435). Significant differences were observed in the values of LFnu, HFnu and LF / HF between the groups of social jet lag <2h and ≥ 2h and correlation of the social jet lag with LFnu (rs = 0.354, p = 0.023), HFnu (rs = - 0.354 , p = 0.023) and LF / HF (r = 0.355, p = 0.023). There was also a negative association between IV60 and indexes in the time domain and non-linear. It is suggested that chronic sleep deprivation may be associated with increased sympathetic activation promoting greater cardiovascular risk.

Sonolência Diurna Excessiva e Otimismo em Estudantes do 1º Ano do Ensino Superior

Os principais objetivos do presente estudo são analisar a prevalência da sonolência diurna excessiva (SDE) em estudantes do Ensino Superior (ES), bem como os seus níveis de otimismo. Participaram no presente estudo 162 estudantes universitários de várias faculdades de ES privado, de ambos os sexos, com idades compreendidas entre os 17 e os 46 anos (M=20,49; DP=5,153) e que frequentavam diferentes cursos (Psicologia, Ciências da Comunicação, Análises Clínicas, Ciências Farmacêuticas e Fisioterapia). O protocolo de recolha de dados foi constituído por um questionário sociodemográfico, dois itens do Questionário do Estado de Saúde (SF-36), a Escala de Sonolência de Epworth (ESE) e a Escala de Orientação para a Vida (LOT-R). A ESE apresentou um valor de alfa de Cronbach de α=0,68 e o LOT-R um valor de alfa de Cronbach de α=0,84. Os principais resultados descritivos mostram uma pontuação média na ESE de 8,98 (DP=3,85), que corresponde a uma prevalência de 32,1% (n=52) de SDE. A pontuação média obtida com a LOT-R foi de 14,3 (DP=4,77), que corresponde a 65,4% (n=106) de estudantes otimistas. Foram encontradas correlações estatisticamente significativas entre a idade e a SDE, mas não entre a SDE e as variáveis de perceção de saúde. Os resultados diferenciais não apresentaram significância estatística na SDE, quando o sexo, o curso e a situação de residência foram tidos em consideração. A idade foi assumida, nas análises de regressão linear, como variável preditora explicativa de 3% da variância dos resultados da ESE. Relativamente ao otimismo, este mostrou-se correlacionado com a perceção do estado de saúde no momento, mas não com a SDE, idade e transição de saúde. Não foi encontrada significância estatística no otimismo quando o sexo, o curso e a situação de residência foram considerados. As análises de regressão linear identificaram como modelo preditor explicativo de cerca de 12% da variação total do LOT-R o modelo que integra a idade e a perceção do estado de saúde no momento. Estudos posteriores devem ser realizados para se aferir a prevalência de SDE e caraterizar o otimismo em estudantes universitários, bem como a relação entre ambos e com outras variáveis relevantes, de foma a apoiar, adequadamente a intervenção.

Relógios biológicos, apetite e sono

Um ritmo circadiano normal, hábitos alimentares saudáveis, prática de exercício físico regular e uma boa higiene de sono constituem fatores imprescindíveis para o bom funcionamento do organismo e para a prevenção de diversas doenças. Os universitários constituem uma população bastante vulnerável a ritmos circadianos anormais, hábitos alimentares pouco saudáveis, sedentarismo e problemas de sono, provenientes das alterações no seu estilo de vida bem como alterações a nível comportamental. O objetivo deste estudo é identificar o cronótipo (matutino, intermédio ou vespertino), os hábitos alimentares e de sono dos alunos universitários. Neste sentido utilizou-se uma amostra de 302 estudantes da Universidade Fernando Pessoa, no qual 238 são do sexo feminino e os restantes 64 são do sexo masculino. Com a finalidade da recolha de dados foi elaborado um questionário através do Formulários do Google. Para avaliar o tipo de cronótipo dos universitários aplicou-se o Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) e os hábitos de sono foram avaliados a partir do Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) e da Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Para avaliar os hábitos alimentares dos participantes formulou-se um conjunto de questões tendo em conta este objetivo. Estes dados foram recolhidos on-line, tendo sido enviado o questionário a todos os alunos da Universidade Fernando Pessoa através do respetivo correio eletrónico institucional. No final desta investigação, foi possível concluir que a maioria dos alunos universitários apresenta um cronótipo intermédio (50 pontos ± 9,43), hábitos alimentares saudáveis e equilibrados e apresenta ainda uma má qualidade de sono (8 pontos ± 2,86) e padrões de sono irregulares, no entanto, não exibem sonolência diurna excessiva (8 pontos ± 3,96).

An overview of research activities and achievement in Geotechnics from the Scottish Universities Geotechnics Network (SUGN)

Design of geotechnical systems is often challenging as it requires the understanding of complex soil behaviour and its influence on field-scale performance of geo-structures. To advance the scientific knowledge and the technological development in geotechnical engineering, a Scottish academic community, named Scottish Universities Geotechnics Network (SUGN), was established in 2001, composing of eight higher education institutions. The network gathers geotechnics researchers, including experimentalists as well as centrifuge, constitutive, and numerical modellers, to generate multiple synergies for building larger collaboration and wider research dissemination in and beyond Scotland. The paper will highlight the research excellence and leading work undertaken in SUGN emphasising some of the contribution to the geotechnical research community and some of the significant research outcomes.