The purpose of this study was to describe the sleep patterns and fatigue of both mothers and fathers before and after childbirth. The authors used wrist actigraphy and questionnaires to estimate sleep and fatigue in 72 couples during their last month of pregnancy and 1st month postpartum. Both parents experienced more sleep disruption at night during the postpartum period as compared to the last month of pregnancy. Compared to fathers, with their stable 24-h sleep patterns over time, mothers had less sleep at night and more sleep during the day after the baby was born. Sleep patterns were also related to parents'work status and type of infant feeding. Both parents self-reported more sleep disturbance and fatigue during the 1st month postpartum than during pregnancy. Mothers reported more sleep disturbance than fathers, but there was no gender difference in ratings of fatigue. At both time points, fathers obtained less total sleep than mothers when sleep was objectively measured throughout the entire 24-h day. Further research is needed to determine the duration of sleep loss for both mothers and fathers, to evaluate the effect of disrupted sleep and sleep loss on psychosocial functioning and job performance, and to develop interventions for improving sleep patterns of new parents. Keywordssleep; fatigue; mothers; fathers; pregnancy; postpartum; naps It has been well documented that women experience significant sleep changes during pregnancy and the postpartum period (Lee 1998;Horiuchi and Nishihara 1999;Shinkoda and others 1999;Kang and others 2002;Moline and others 2003;Wolfson and others 2003). Hormonal fluctuations can interfere with sleep during early pregnancy, the growing fetus makes it difficult to sleep comfortably later in pregnancy, and newborn care typically requires frequent nighttime wakenings during the postpartum period. Childbearing women have also been found to experience increasing levels of fatigue during pregnancy and postpartum (Lee and DeJoseph 1992;Milligan and Pugh 1994;Carty and others 1996;Troy and Dalgas-Pelish 1997;Lee and Zaffke 1999), although the relationship between fatigue severity and sleep quality appears to be complex (Elek and others 1997;Lee 2001). These sleep changes and accompanying increases in fatigue have implications for women's physical and mental health, relationships, employment, and parental competence.Most studies in this area have focused solely on childbearing women. Yet fathers are also at risk for sleep disturbance and fatigue during this time. When a pregnant woman is unable to sleep, her bed partner is also likely to experience sleep disruption. Like new mothers, new fathers are subject to the random sleep-wake cycles of their newborns and often participate in their nighttime care. As a result, fathers may be experiencing sleep disruption and deprivation similar to that of mothers. Fathers also tend to return to work sooner than most mothers (Elek and others 2002), exposing them to additional job-related stress and eliminating the opportunity for na...

A recent study found enhanced upwelling rates in the Southern Ocean during the last glacial termination that coincided with the deglacial warming in Antarctica and the rise in atmospheric CO2. They hypothesized that the intensification of Southern Hemisphere midlatitude westerlies, the presumed cause of the increased wind‐driven upwelling, was triggered by an initial cooling within the glacial North Atlantic whose influence was then communicated to the southern midlatitudes through an atmospheric teleconnection. In this study, we explore the viability of the above hypothesis using a modeling strategy, focusing on the atmospheric teleconnection. In simulations where North Atlantic cooling was applied, the model Intertropical Convergence Zone shifted southward, and westerlies and wind stress over Southern Ocean increased by as much as 25%. While the perennial westerly anomalies occur over the entire Southern Ocean, they are strongest over the South Pacific during the austral winter. When the wind stress anomalies were applied to an Earth system model incorporating interactive marine biogeochemistry, atmospheric CO2 rises between 20 and 60 ppm, depending on the biological response. We thus confirm the viability of the proposed atmospheric teleconnection hypothesis. The teleconnection appears to involves two distinct steps: first, the North Atlantic cooling shifts the Intertropical Convergence Zone southward, weakening the southern branch of the Hadley circulation, and second, how the altered Hadley circulation in turn modifies the structure of midlatitude westerlies in the South Pacific, via the former's influence on the Southern Hemisphere subtropical jet. This study underscores the control of the Northern Hemisphere has on southern midlatitude westerlies, mediating by tropical circulation, in contrast to past paleoclimate hypotheses that the magnitude and position of the southern midlatitude westerlies was controlled by global mean temperature. Our results do not preclude other potential mechanisms for affecting Southern Ocean ventilation, in particular through oceanic pathways.

No abstract

Aim This cross‐sectional correlation study aimed to explore the associations among patient safety culture, organisational support, second victim‐related distress, absenteeism and turnover intentions in the registered nurses (RNs) by using structural equation modelling. Background Medical errors could cause RNs’ second victim‐related distress, which may either positively or negatively impact patient safety culture. Method The Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) and Second Victim Experience and Support Tool (SVEST) were used to investigate 267 RNs who were involved in direct patient care and medical errors within the previous year in China. Results About half (45.3%) of nurses experienced psychological distress, and 26.6% of the nurses intended to leave. The model showed that 6 dimensions of patient safety culture have contributed to decreasing absenteeism and turnover intention via increased organisational supports and decreased second victim‐related distress. Conclusion The second victim‐related distress may be relieved, and organisational support may be enhanced through improvements in patient safety culture. Implications for nursing management Strategies are needed to establish an environment where cooperation/cooperative relationships between the supervisor and the staff nurse can be ensured.

Wound healing is a complex tissue regeneration process that promotes the growth of new tissue to provide the body with the necessary barrier from the outside environment. In the class of non-healing wounds, diabetic wounds, and ulcers, dressing materials that are available clinically (e.g., gels and creams) have demonstrated only a slow improvement with current available technologies. Among all available current technologies, electrospun fibers exhibit several characteristics that may provide novel replacement dressing materials for the above-mentioned wounds. Therefore, in this review, we focus on recent achievements in electrospun drug-eluting fibers for wound healing applications. In particular, we review drug release, including small molecule drugs, proteins and peptides, and gene vectors from electrospun fibers with respect to wound healing. Furthermore, we provide an overview on multifunctional dressing materials based on electrospun fibers, including those that are capable of achieving wound debridement and wound healing simultaneously as well as multi-drugs loading/types suitable for various stages of the healing process. Our review provides important and sufficient information to inform the field in development of fiber-based dressing materials for clinical treatment of non-healing wounds.

This U.S.A.-based study examined the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of sleep, as well as the role of sleep, in the association of stress with depression, fatigue, and health-related quality of life (H-QOL) among mothers with a low-birth-weight, preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care unit at early postpartum. Fifty-five first-time mothers kept a sleep diary and filled out a battery of questionnaires. The wrist actigraphy method was also applied to collect information on maternal sleep. We tested a path model, with sleep disturbance and depression mediating the effect of stress on health-related well-being. Results showed that the majority of the study participants were stressed, depressed, fatigued, and at risk for poor physical and mental health. Poor sleep quality as perceived by mothers was significantly associated with their stress, fatigue, and poor mental and physical H-QOL. A cascading effect was found in the path model where maternal stress contributed to poor sleep quality and depression, which in turn contributed to poor mental H-QOL. In addition, poor sleep quality was associated with fatigue, which in turn contributed to poor physical and mental H-QOL. The underlying neurobiological mechanisms through which sleep affects the stress–health relation are discussed. The implications of sleep for intervention and prevention are also addressed.

Mothers of hospitalized low-birth-weight infants are vulnerable. The presence of sleep disturbances and negative physical and mental health indicators warrants further study. Intervention is needed to promote sleep for new mothers during postpartum recovery, especially mothers who are dealing with a medically ill infant.

Virtual reality is a viable tool to improve UE function in children with CP. However, a more vigorous research design is needed to make a conclusive recommendation.