Sleep, school performance, and a school-based intervention among school-aged children: a sleep series study in China.

BACKGROUND: Sufficient sleep during childhood is essential to ensure a transition into a healthy adulthood. However, chronic sleep loss continues to increase worldwide. In this context, it is imperative to make sleep a high-priority and take action to promote sleep health among children. The present series of studies aimed to shed light on sleep patterns, on the longitudinal association of sleep with school performance, and on practical intervention strategy for Chinese school-aged children. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A serial sleep researches, including a national cross-sectional survey, a prospective cohort study, and a school-based sleep intervention, were conducted in China from November 2005 through December 2009. The national cross-sectional survey was conducted in 8 cities and a random sample of 20,778 children aged 9.0±1.61 years participated in the survey. The five-year prospective cohort study included 612 children aged 6.8±0.31 years. The comparative cross-sectional study (baseline: n = 525, aged 10.80±0.41; post-intervention follow-up: n = 553, aged 10.81±0.33) was undertaken in 6 primary schools in Shanghai. A battery of parent and teacher reported questionnaires were used to collect information on children's sleep behaviors, school performance, and sociodemographic characteristics. The mean sleep duration was 9.35±0.77 hours. The prevalence of daytime sleepiness was 64.4% (sometimes: 37.50%; frequently: 26.94%). Daytime sleepiness was significantly associated with impaired attention, learning motivation, and particularly, academic achievement. By contrast, short sleep duration only related to impaired academic achievement. After delaying school start time 30 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively, sleep duration correspondingly increased by 15.6 minutes and 22.8 minutes, respectively. Moreover, intervention significantly improved the sleep duration and daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Insufficient sleep and daytime sleepiness commonly existed and positively associated with the impairment of school performance, especially academic achievement, among Chinese school-aged children. The effectiveness of delaying school staring time emphasized the benefits of optimal school schedule regulation to children's sleep health.

[Sequential implementing farmland consolidation and replacing cattle with machine to control schistosomiasis].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the schistosomiasis control effect of sequential farmland consolidation and replacing bovine with machine. METHODS: Two farmlands of Qianjiang City were selected as experimental districts, and the sequential implementing farmland consolidation and replacing bovine with machine were carried out. The schistosomiasis epidemic situation was observed continuously. RESULTS: From 2008 to 2012, the human schistosome infection rate decreased by 78.90%, in which the seropositive rate decreased by 47.88% (chi2 = 368.58, P < 0.01) and the stool positive rate decreased by 55.88% (chi2 = 29.92, P < 0.01). The schistosome infection rate of cattle was 2.54% in 2008, but from 2009, there were no cattle in the area. The Oncomelania snail area decreased by 54.78%, and the rate of frames with living snails and the mean density of living snails decreased by 76.49% and 72.63% (chi2 = 11.34, 12.86, P < 0.01) respectively. Since 2009, no infected snails were found. CONCLUSION: The sequential implementing farmland consolidation and replacing cattle with machine can effectively control the transmission of schistosomiasis.

[Growth and decline of oncomelania snail status of canals in Qianjiang City in Four Lake areas, 1990-2010].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the growth and decline of Oncomelania snail status in canals of Four Lake areas, so as to provide the evidence for formulating control strategy. METHODS: The data of snail investigations were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The snail area decreased by 31.05%, the snail density decreased by 92.08, and the infection rate of snails decreased by 87.69% in 2010 compared with those in 1990. CONCLUSION: During the period of 1990 to 2010, all the key indicators of snail status decline. However, we still need strengthen the snail control.