Coping with shift work-related circadian disruption: A mixed-methods case study on napping and caffeine use in Australian nurses and midwives

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Two of the most ubiquitous fatigue countermeasures used by shift-working nurses are napping and caffeine. This mixed-methods case study investigated the ways nurses and midwives utilised napping and caffeine countermeasures to cope with shift work, and associated sleep, physical health and psychological health outcomes.

Materials and Methods: N = 130 Australian shift-working nurses and midwives (mean age = 44 years, range = 21–67, 115F, 15M) completed the Standard Shiftwork Index. A sub-set of 22 nurses and midwives completed an in-depth interview.

Results: Nearly 70% of participants reported napping. Those who napped during night shifts had significantly less total sleep time before (F_2,75 = 5.5, p < 0.01) and between days off (F_2,82 = 3.9, p < 0.05). By the end of the night shift, average hours of time awake were significantly less for prophylactic and on-shift nappers compared to non-nappers (F_2,85 = 97.2, p < 0.001). Since starting shift work, the percentage of high caffeine consumers (>400 mg/day) increased from 15% to 33% of the sample and an average of 4 (SD = 2) caffeinated beverages per day was reported. Increased caffeine consumption was associated with greater sleep disturbance (r = 0.26, p < 0.05), psychological distress (r = 0.37, p < 0.001), abdomen pain (r = 0.27, p < 0.05) and weight gain since starting shift work (r = 0.25, p < 0.05). Interviews confirmed these relationships and revealed that caffeine consumption on night shift was common, whereas napping on night shift was dependent on a number of factors including ability to sleep during the day.

Conclusion: This study identified reasons shift workers chose to engage in or abstain from napping and consuming caffeine, and how these strategies related to poor sleep and health outcomes. Further research is required to help develop recommendations for shift workers regarding napping and caffeine consumption as fatigue countermeasures, whilst taking into account the associated hazards of each strategy.     

Efficient and low-cost alternative of lipase concentration aiming at the application in the treatment of waste cooking oils

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - In this study, we evaluated the concentration of lipases from Aspergillus niger using efficient and low-cost methods aiming at application in the treatment...     

Drivers of vegetative dormancy across herbaceous perennial plant species

Vegetative dormancy, that is the temporary absence of aboveground growth for ≥ 1 year, is paradoxical, because plants cannot photosynthesise or flower during dormant periods. We test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses for its widespread persistence. We show that dormancy has evolved numerous times. Most species displaying dormancy exhibit life‐history costs of sprouting, and of dormancy. Short‐lived and mycoheterotrophic species have higher proportions of dormant plants than long‐lived species and species with other nutritional modes. Foliage loss is associated with higher future dormancy levels, suggesting that carbon limitation promotes dormancy. Maximum dormancy duration is shorter under higher precipitation and at higher latitudes, the latter suggesting an important role for competition or herbivory. Study length affects estimates of some demographic parameters. Our results identify life historical and environmental drivers of dormancy. We also highlight the evolutionary importance of the little understood costs of sprouting and growth, latitudinal stress gradients and mixed nutritional modes.     

The survey on cellular and tissue-engineered therapies in Europe and neighboring Eurasian countries in 2014 and 2015

Background aims

With the support of five established scientific organizations, this report, the seventh of its kind, describes activity in Europe for the years 2014 and 2015 in the area of cellular and tissue-engineered therapies, excluding hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) treatments for the reconstitution of hematopoiesis.

A guide to the contained use of plant virus infectious clones

Plant virus infectious clones are important tools with wide‐ranging applications in different areas of biology and medicine. Their uses in plant pathology include the study of plant–virus interactions, and screening of germplasm as part of prebreeding programmes for virus resistance. They can also be modified to induce transient plant gene silencing (Virus Induced Gene Silencing – VIGS) and as expression vectors for plant or exogenous proteins, with applications in both plant pathology and more generally for the study of plant gene function. Plant viruses are also increasingly being investigated as expression vectors for in planta production of pharmaceutical products, known as molecular farming. However, plant virus infectious clones may pose a risk to the environment due to their ability to reconstitute fully functional, transmissible viruses. These risks arise from both their inherent pathogenicity and the effect of any introduced genetic modifications. Effective containment measures are therefore required. There has been no single comprehensive review of the biosafety considerations for the contained use of genetically modified plant viruses, despite their increasing importance across many biological fields. This review therefore explores the biosafety considerations for working with genetically modified plant viruses in contained environments, with focus on plant growth facilities. It includes regulatory frameworks, risk assessment, assignment of biosafety levels, facility features and working practices. The review is based on international guidance together with information provided by plant virus researchers.     

A Drosophila Model of Intellectual Disability Caused by Mutations in the Histone Demethylase KDM5

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Primary Cilium-Mediated Retinal Pigment Epithelium Maturation Is Disrupted in Ciliopathy Patient Cells

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Molecular genetics of the transcription factor GLIS3 identifies its dual function in beta cells and neurons

The GLIS family zinc finger 3 isoform (GLIS3) is a risk gene for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, glaucoma and Alzheimer's disease endophenotype. We identified GLIS3 binding sites in insulin secreting cells (INS1) (FDR q < 0.05; enrichment range 1.40–9.11 fold) sharing the motif wrGTTCCCArTAGs, which were enriched in genes involved in neuronal function and autophagy and in risk genes for metabolic and neuro-behavioural diseases. We confirmed experimentally Glis3-mediated regulation of the expression of genes involved in autophagy and neuron function in INS1 and neuronal PC12 cells. Naturally-occurring coding polymorphisms in Glis3 in the Goto-Kakizaki rat model of type 2 diabetes were associated with increased insulin production in vitro and in vivo, suggestive alteration of autophagy in PC12 and INS1 and abnormal neurogenesis in hippocampus neurons. Our results support biological pleiotropy of GLIS3 in pathologies affecting β-cells and neurons and underline the existence of trans?nosology pathways in diabetes and its co-morbidities.     

LTW4 Protein on Mouse Chromosome 1 Is a Member of a Family of Antioxidant Proteins

Based on its map position, polymorphism pattern, and expression in the kidney, the gene encoding liver 20,000–30,000 MW protein 4 (LTW4) can be considered a potential candidate for theJckm2modifying locus, which mediates the severity of polycystic kidney disease in thejuvenile cystic kidneymouse. Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we identified variants of a 26-kDa polypeptide that differed in their isoelectric points between the C57BL/6J and the DBA/2J inbred strains in a pattern similar to that originally described for LTW4 protein. N-terminal amino acid sequence was obtained by microsequencing analysis, and full-length clones were obtained by RT-PCR amplification and characterized. The map position of the cloned gene was determined and corresponded to that previously described forLtw4.The gene has homology to a class of proteins characterized as thiol-specific antioxidants that are protective against damage caused by oxidative stress. The murine MER5 gene is also a member of this gene family and has recently been renamedAntioxidant protein 1 (Aop1),based on its functional characterization. We therefore propose that the gene encoding LTW4 be calledAop2.