A variational approach to frame-indifferent quasistatic viscoelasticity of rate type.

The three-dimensional dynamical model for nonlinear viscoelasticity of strain-rate type is investigated in a quasistatic setting under the assumption of higher-order regularity of the deformation, which in the literature is referred to as the case of non-simple materials. The existence of weak solutions is proven using a time-discretization technique while respecting the condition of dynamical frame indifference. Some observations on frame indifference for strain-rate-type stresses are made, and corrections are proposed for some related work in the literature. Finally, a counterexample is given to show that the assumed higher-order regularity is necessary in order to obtain the required compactness.This article is part of the theme issue 'Non-smooth variational problems with applications in mechanics'.

Chrononutrition and Cardiometabolic Health: An Overview of Epidemiological Evidence and Key Future Research Directions.

Chrononutrition is a rapidly evolving field of nutritional epidemiology that addresses the complex relationship between temporal eating patterns, circadian rhythms, and metabolic health, but most prior research has focused on the cardiometabolic consequences of time-restricted feeding and intermittent fasting. The purpose of this topical review is to summarize epidemiological evidence from observational and intervention studies regarding the role of chrononutrition metrics related to eating timing and regularity in cardiometabolic health preservation and cardiovascular disease prevention. Observational studies are limited due to the lack of time-stamped diet data in most population-based studies. Findings from cohort studies generally indicate that breakfast skipping or the later timing of the first eating occasion, a later lunch and dinner, and a greater proportion of caloric intake consumed in the evening are associated with adverse cardiometabolic outcomes, including higher risk for coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and systemic inflammation. Randomized controlled trials are also limited, as most in the field of chrononutrition focus on the cardiometabolic consequences of time-restricted feeding. Overall, interventions that shift eating timing patterns to earlier in the day and that restrict evening caloric intake tend to have protective effects on cardiometabolic health, but small sample sizes and short follow-up are notable limitations. Innovation in dietary assessment approaches, to develop low-cost validated tools with acceptable participant burden that reliably capture chrononutrition metrics, is needed for advancing observational evidence. Culturally responsive pragmatic intervention studies with sufficiently large and representative samples are needed to understand the impact of fixed and earlier eating timing schedules on cardiometabolic health. Additional research is warranted to understand the modifiable determinants of temporal eating patterns, to investigate the role of chrononutrition in the context of other dimensions of diet (quantity, quality, and food and nutrition security) in achieving cardiometabolic health equity, and to elucidate underlying physiological mechanisms.

The Emerging Importance of Sleep Regularity on Cardiovascular Health and Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults: A Review of the Literature.

The regularity of sleep/wake patterns across multiple days is emerging as an important determinant of health. However, the association between sleep regularity and health outcomes in the aging population is not well understood. The current systematic review identified 22 publications that examined the relationship between sleep regularity and selected health outcomes: cardiovascular risk, cognitive impairment, and mortality. All studies were published after 2010, reflecting a growing research interest in daily sleep regularity. Low sleep regularity was consistently associated with higher cardiovascular risk and elevated risk of all-cause mortality. Results on cognitive impairment are mixed, with inconsistency likely attributed to small sample sizes and differences in sleep regularity assessment. Overall, regularity in sleep carries important information about health and should be included in future studies that collect daily sleep measures. Gaps in literature and methodological shortcomings are discussed.

The Agreement between Wearable Sensors and Force Plates for the Analysis of Stride Time Variability.

The variability and regularity of stride time may help identify individuals at a greater risk of injury during military load carriage. Wearable sensors could provide a cost-effective, portable solution for recording these measures, but establishing their validity is necessary. This study aimed to determine the agreement of several measures of stride time variability across five wearable sensors (Opal APDM, Vicon Blue Trident, Axivity, Plantiga, Xsens DOT) and force plates during military load carriage. Nineteen Australian Army trainee soldiers (age: 24.8 ± 5.3 years, height: 1.77 ± 0.09 m, body mass: 79.5 ± 15.2 kg, service: 1.7 ± 1.7 years) completed three 12-min walking trials on an instrumented treadmill at 5.5 km/h, carrying 23 kg of an external load. Simultaneously, 512 stride time intervals were identified from treadmill-embedded force plates and each sensor where linear (standard deviation and coefficient of variation) and non-linear (detrended fluctuation analysis and sample entropy) measures were obtained. Sensor and force plate agreement was evaluated using Pearson's r and intraclass correlation coefficients. All sensors had at least moderate agreement (ICC > 0.5) and a strong positive correlation (r > 0.5). These results suggest wearable devices could be employed to quantify linear and non-linear measures of stride time variability during military load carriage.

A Lifestyle Monitoring System for Older Adults Living Independently Using Low-Resolution Smart Meter Data.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring the lifestyles of older adults helps promote independent living and ensure their well-being. The common technologies for home monitoring include wearables, ambient sensors, and smart household meters. While wearables can be intrusive, ambient sensors require extra installation, and smart meters are becoming integral to smart city infrastructure. Research Gap: The previous studies primarily utilized high-resolution smart meter data by applying Non-Intrusive Appliance Load Monitoring (NIALM) techniques, leading to significant privacy concerns. Meanwhile, some Japanese power companies have successfully employed low-resolution data to monitor lifestyle patterns discreetly. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY: This study develops a lifestyle monitoring system for older adults using low-resolution smart meter data, mapping electricity consumption to appliance usage. The power consumption data are collected at 15-min intervals, and the background power threshold distinguishes between the active and inactive periods (0/1). The system quantifies activity through an active score and assesses daily routines by comparing these scores against the long-term norms. Key Outcomes/Contributions: The findings reveal that low-resolution data can effectively monitor lifestyle patterns without compromising privacy. The active scores and regularity assessments calculated using correlation coefficients offer a comprehensive view of residents' daily activities and any deviations from the established patterns. This study contributes to the literature by validating the efficacy of low-resolution data in lifestyle monitoring systems and underscores the potential of smart meters in enhancing elderly people's care.

Electrophysiological markers of orthographic pattern learning in school-aged children with reading challenges: An ERP investigation.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies suggested that children with reading difficulty have impaired statistical learning ability in extracting distributional orthographic regularities. However, the neural mechanisms underlying have not been fully investigated. AIMS: The current study aimed to identify the electrophysiological markers and to examine the neural underpinnings of statistical learning of orthographic regularities in children with reading difficulties. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Using the event-related potentials (ERPs) and the orthographic learning task, 157 children were exposed to a sequence of artificial pseudocharacters with varying levels of positional and semantic consistency (low at 60 %, moderate at 80 %, and high at 100 %). OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Poor readers elicited an increased N170 response in the low consistency and a lack of left-lateralized P300 effect when learning positional regularities of radicals. Similarly, larger N170 effects were observed in poor readers, while similar N400 effects were found in both poor and average readers when learning semantic regularities of radicals. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Our findings indicate that poor readers may have trouble using statistical information for early-stage orthographic pattern extraction, yet they can identify semantic inconsistencies after sufficient exposure. These results deepen our understanding of the neural mechanisms involved in statistical learning for poor readers and aid in improving criteria for differentiating between typically developing children and those with reading challenges.

Honey Added to Yogurt with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 Supports Probiotic Enrichment but Does Not Reduce Intestinal Transit Time in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Controlled, Crossover Trial.

BACKGROUND: Honey improves probiotic survival in vitro. However, if this effect translates to humans has not been investigated. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to determine effects of honey plus yogurt containing the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis DN-173 010/CNCM I-2494 (B. animalis) on intestinal transit time, probiotic enrichment, digestive health, mood, and cognition in adults. METHODS: Sixty-six healthy adults (34 female; 33.6 ± 9.8 y; 24.6 ± 3.0 kg/m2) in a crossover trial were randomly assigned to 2-wk yogurt conditions in a counterbalanced order with ≥4-wk washout: 1) Honey (HON): yogurt plus honey and 2) Negative Control (NC): heat-treated yogurt plus sugar. Of the participants, n = 62 completed the trial, and n = 37 (17 female; 32.0 ± 8.3 y; 25.0 ± 2.9 kg/m2) elected to enroll in a third condition (a nonrandomized study extension) after ≥4-wk washout with a reference Positive Control (PC): yogurt plus sugar. At baseline and end of each of the 3 conditions, intestinal transit time was measured with dye capsules; probiotic abundance with fecal DNA 16S sequencing; digestive health with symptom/function records, Bristol stool consistency, Gastrointestinal Tolerability, and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index; mood with Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Short Form, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-42, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System questionnaires, and an emotional image task; and cognition with a spatial reconstruction task. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models (LMMs) with significance at P ≤ 0.05. Baseline and end data were included in the LMM, with fixed effects being treatment, time, treatment by time interaction, and baseline covariate, and the random effect being the participant. RESULTS: B. animalis was enriched in HON (d = 3.54; P = 0.0002) compared to controls with linear discriminant analysis effect size. Intestinal transit time, gastrointestinal health, mood, and cognition did not differ between conditions (LMM: Ps > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Yogurt + honey enriched B. animalis but did not reduce intestinal transit time or have other functional gastrointestinal, mood, or cognitive effects in adults. This trial was registered at www. CLINICALTRIALS: gov as NCT04187950 and NCT04901390.

Sleep deficiency and symptoms of pain, fatigue, and depressed mood in youth with and without childhood systemic lupus erythematosus.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare sleep deficiency and symptoms of pain, fatigue, and depressed mood in youth with childhood Systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) to a healthy comparison group of youth; and to test the associations between sleep and symptoms of pain, fatigue, and depressed mood in youth with cSLE. METHODS: Forty-three youth (23 youth with cSLE; 20 age, sex-matched healthy youth) wore actigraphs and completed sleep diaries for 10 days, and completed self-report questionnaires on sleep quality, pain, fatigue, and depressed mood. RESULTS: On average, both groups had a total sleep time of less than 7 hours. Youth with cSLE had worse sleep efficiency (73.3%) and sleep regularity index scores (55.4) compared to the healthy comparison group of youth (79.2%, 60.1, respectively). Youth with cSLE had worse pain (p = .03) and fatigue (p = .004) compared to the healthy comparison group. Negative associations were found among self-reported sleep quality, sleep satisfaction, and symptoms of pain, fatigue, and depressed mood in youth with cSLE and wake after sleep onset was positively associated with fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: Poor sleep efficiency and sleep irregularity accompanied by symptoms of pain, fatigue, and depressed mood was prevalent in youth with cSLE. Youth with lupus should be encouraged to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Since, this is the first study to incorporate objective sleep and sleep regularity measures in youth with cSLE, additional studies with objective and self-report sleep measures are needed to replicate our findings.

Longitudinal changes in vertical stride regularity, hip flexion, and knee flexion contribute to the alteration in gait speed during hospitalization for stroke.

Changes in stride regularity and joint motion during gait appear to be related to improved gait speed in hospitalized patients with stroke. We aimed to clarify the changes in stride regularity and joint motion during gait through longitudinal observations. Furthermore, we aimed to clarify the relationship between changes in gait speed, stride regularity, and joint motion during gait. Seventeen inpatients with stroke were assessed for physical and gait functions at baseline, when they reached functional ambulation category 3, and before discharge. Physical function was assessed using the Fugl-Meyer assessment for the lower extremities and the Berg Balance Scale. Gait function was assessed on the basis of gait speed, joint motion, stride regularity, and step symmetry using inertial sensors. The correlations between the ratio of change in gait speed and each indicator from baseline to discharge were analyzed. Both physical and gait functions improved significantly during the hospital stay. The ratio of change in gait speed was significantly and positively correlated with the ratio of change in vertical stride regularity (r = 0.662), vertical step symmetry (rs = 0.627), hip flexion (rs = 0.652), knee flexion (affected side) (r = 0.611), and ankle plantarflexion (unaffected side) (rs = 0.547). Vertical stride regularity, hip flexion, and knee flexion (affected side) were significant factors in determining the ratio of changes in gait speed. Our results suggest that stride regularity, hip flexion, and knee flexion could explain the entire gait cycle and that of the affected side. These parameters can be used as indices to improve gait speed.

Why circadian rhythmicity matters: Associations between sleep irregularity and mental health conditions during the Covid-19 health crisis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between sleep irregularity, anxiety, and depression while controlling for other sleep dimensions and using a longitudinal design. METHODS: Longitudinal cohort study which started in April 2020 during the first French lockdown in the general population. Follow-up questionnaires were completed in June 2020, a period without lockdown measures. Participants were asked about their sleep (regularity, duration, timing, complaints) and their anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-7) and depressive (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) symptoms. RESULTS: A total of 3745 participants were included (mean age: 28.9 years) with 2945 women (78.6%). At baseline, 38.1% (1428) of participants reported irregular sleep timing, 23.8% (891) anxiety and 28.9% (1081) depressive symptoms. In cross-sectional analyses, irregular sleep timing was associated with a 2.5-fold higher likelihood of anxiety and a 4-fold higher likelihood of depressive symptoms compared to regular sleepers. Associations were not explained by the other sleep dimensions and persisted in a longitudinal analysis, with irregular sleep timing at baseline being associated with anxiety (OR = 3.27[1.58-6.76]) and depressive symptoms (OR = 3.45[1.66-7.19]) during follow-up. CONCLUSION: The results show a strong association between sleep irregularity and mental health. Furthers studies are needed to explore how sleep regularity could promote good mental health in non-clinical populations.

Regularity of the edge ideals of perfect [ν,h]-ary trees and some unicyclic graphs.

We compute the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity of the quotient rings of edge ideals of perfect [ν,h]-ary trees and some unicyclic graphs.

Associations between Sleep Hygiene and Mental Complaints in a French Healthcare Worker Population during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis to Personalize Sleep Health Interventions.

Healthcare workers often have irregular work schedules and experience significant stress, which can lead to poor sleep quality and frequent mental health issues, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of poor sleep hygiene and mental health complaints among healthcare workers and examine their associations. We investigated participants' typical sleep-wake patterns on workdays and free days as indicators of sleep hygiene. Sleep efficiency and social jetlag were calculated as the ratio of mean sleep duration to time spent in bed, while sleep rebound was defined as the difference in mean sleep duration between workdays and free days. Social jetlag was determined as the difference in mid-sleep timing between workdays and free days, with mid-sleep defined as the midpoint between bedtime and wake-up time. Insomnia severity was assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), daytime sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and symptoms of anxiety and depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4). Fatigue was measured using a single item inspired by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). A total of 1562 participants (80.5% women, mean age 40.0 years) were included in the study. The results revealed that 25.9% of participants slept less than 6 h, 24.3% had a sleep efficiency of less than 85%, 27.3% experienced a sleep rebound of more than 2 h, and 11.5% reported a social jetlag exceeding 2 h. Additionally, 33.9% of participants reported insomnia, 45.1% reported excessive daytime sleepiness, 13.1% reported fatigue, 16.5% reported symptoms of depression, and 35.7% reported symptoms of anxiety. After adjustment, mean sleep duration and sleep efficiency were associated with most mental health complaints. Sleep rebound and social jetlag were associated with significant insomnia but not with anxiety or depression symptoms. Our findings underscore the high prevalence of poor sleep hygiene and mental health complaints among healthcare workers, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. We advocate for the promotion of sleep health through behavioral sleep strategies to safeguard the well-being of healthcare professionals.

Exponential Stability and Hypoelliptic Regularization for the Kinetic Fokker-Planck Equation with Confining Potential.

This paper is concerned with a modified entropy method to establish the large-time convergence towards the (unique) steady state, for kinetic Fokker-Planck equations with non-quadratic confinement potentials in whole space. We extend previous approaches by analyzing Lyapunov functionals with non-constant weight matrices in the dissipation functional (a generalized Fisher information). We establish exponential convergence in a weighted H1-norm with rates that become sharp in the case of quadratic potentials. In the defective case for quadratic potentials, i.e. when the drift matrix has non-trivial Jordan blocks, the weighted L2-distance between a Fokker-Planck-solution and the steady state has always a sharp decay estimate of the order O((1+t)e-tν/2), with ν the friction parameter. The presented method also gives new hypoelliptic regularization results for kinetic Fokker-Planck equations (from a weighted L2-space to a weighted H1-space).

Construct validity and test-retest reliability of a chrononutrition questionnaire for shift work and non-shift work populations.

The irregular eating patterns of both shift workers and evening chronotypes adversely affect cardiometabolic health. A tool that conveniently captures temporal patterns of eating alongside an indicator of circadian rhythm such as chronotype will enable researchers to explore relationships with diverse health outcome measures. We aimed to investigate the test-retest reliability and convergent validity of a Chrononutrition Questionnaire (CNQ) that captures temporal patterns of eating and chronotype in the general population (non-shift workers, university students, retirees, unemployed individuals) and shift work population. Participants attended two face-to-face/virtual sessions and completed the CNQ and food/sleep/work diaries. Outcomes included subjective chronotype, wake/sleep/mid-sleep time, sleep duration, meal/snack regularity, meal/snack/total frequency, times of first/last/largest eating occasions (EO), main meal (MM) 1/2/3, and duration of eating window (DEW). 116 participants enrolled (44.5 ± 16.5 years, BMI: 27.3 ± 5.8 kg/m2, 73% female, 52% general population); 105 completed the study. Reliability was acceptable for chronotype, sleep, and all temporal eating patterns except on night shifts. Convergent validity was good for chronotype and sleep except for certain shift/shift-free days. Generally, meal/snack regularity and frequency, and times of first/last EO showed good validity for the general population but not shift workers. Validity was good for DEW (except work-free days and afternoon shifts) and times of MM 1/2/3 (except afternoon and night shifts), while time of largest EO had poor validity. The CNQ has good test-retest reliability and acceptable convergent validity for the general and shift work population, although it will benefit from further validation, especially regarding regularity, frequency, and times of first and last eating occasions across more days amongst a larger sample size of shift workers. Use of the CNQ by researchers will expand our current understanding of chrononutrition as relationships between timing of food intake and the multitude of health outcomes are examined.

Actigraphic sleep dimensions and associations with academic functioning among adolescents.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: There is mixed evidence regarding associations of sleep duration with academic functioning in adolescents and a lack of research on other sleep dimensions, particularly using objective sleep measures. We examined associations of multiple actigraphic sleep dimensions with academic functioning among adolescents. METHODS: Data were from the sleep sub-study of the age 15 wave of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 774-782; 52% female), a national, diverse sample of teens. Adolescents wore wrist-actigraphs for ~1 week and completed a survey reporting academic performance and school-related behavioral problems. Regression models assessed whether average sleep duration, timing, maintenance efficiency, and SD-variability were associated with self-reported academic functioning in cross-sectional analyses adjusted for demographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, and anxious symptoms. RESULTS: Later sleep timing (hours) and greater sleep variability (SD-hours) were associated with poorer academic outcomes, including sleep onset variability with higher odds of receiving a D or lower (OR = 1.29), sleep onset (ß = -.07), sleep offset (ß = -.08), and sleep duration variability (ß = -.08) with fewer A grades, sleep offset with lower GPA (ß = -.07), sleep offset (OR = 1.11), sleep duration variability (OR = 1.31), and sleep onset variability (OR = 1.42) with higher odds of being suspended or expelled in the past 2 years, and sleep duration variability with greater trouble at school (ß = .13). Sleep duration, sleep maintenance efficiency, and sleep regularity index were not associated with academic functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Later sleep timing and greater sleep variability are risk factors for certain academic problems among adolescents. Promoting sufficient, regular sleep timing across the week may improve adolescent academic functioning.

[Air Microbial Contamination and Risk of Respiratory Exposure of Workers in Chicken Farms].

Animal farms are important sources of microbial contamination in the air environment. However, there are few reports on the time-regularity characteristics of airborne microbial contamination in farms. In the context of this situation, a study was conducted for more than 80 weeks using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to characterize the bacterial distribution and respiratory exposure in the farm air and fecal environment, respectively, taking a layer farm as an example. The results showed that 16S rRNA concentrations in air and manure samples ranged from 6.08×105-4.90×106 copies·m-3 and 4.27×108-1.15×1010 copies·g-1, respectively. The mean values of airborne bacterial concentrations were significantly higher in winter than in summer, whereas the biodiversity showed the opposite trend. The dominant bacterial phylum in both air and manure in the layer farm was Firmicutes. During the investigated time, the top three dominant genera in the air were relatively stable, in the order of Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium, whereas the dominant genera in feces fluctuated with the increase in breeding time. The correlation between the community structure of bacteria and pathogenic bacteria in both air and manure was not significant, but the concentrations of both target microorganisms in different media were significantly correlated. The bioaerosolization index of bacteria in manure showed an increasing trend with increasing breeding time, whereas the opposite trend was observed for pathogenic bacteria. In this case, [Ruminococcus]_torques_group, Bacteroides, and Faecalibacterium were the top three pathogenic genera that were the most prone to aerosolization. There were seasonal differences in bacterial respiratory exposures of chicken farm workers, with mean intake values of 2.54×107 copies·d-1 and 2.87×105 copies·d-1 for bacteria and pathogenic bacteria, respectively. The results of this study will provide a scientific basis for systematically assessing the contamination characteristics and potential health risks of airborne microorganisms on farms and for developing corresponding industry standards for occupational exposure and prevention and control measures.

Optimizing targeting strategies for lithotripsy through in-vitro and in vivo studies with consideration of respiratory regularity.

BACKGROUND: This work aimed to identify a method to achieve improved stone targeting and safety in shockwave lithotripsy by accounting for respiration. METHODS: We set up an electromotive device simulating renal movement during respiration to place artificial stones within the phantom gel, measuring stone weight changes before and after shockwave exposure and the cavitation damage. We conducted clinical trials using respiratory masks and sensors to monitor and analyze patient respiration during shockwave lithotripsy. RESULTS: The in vitro efficiency of lithotripsy was higher when adjusted for respiration than when respiration was not adjusted for. Slow respiration showed the best efficiency with higher hit rates when not adjusted for respiration. Cavitation damage was also lowest during slow respiration. The clinical study included 52 patients. Respiratory regularity was maintained above 90% in regular respiration. When respiration was regular, the lithotripsy rate was about 65.6%, which stayed at about 40% when respiration was irregular. During the lithotripsy, the participants experienced various events, such as sleep, taking off their masks, talking, movement, coughing, pain, nervousness, and hyperventilation. The generation of shockwaves based on respiratory regularity could reduce pain in patients. CONCLUSION: These results suggest a more accurate lithotripsy should be performed according to respiratory regularity.

A Mixed-Methods, Multimedia Pilot Study to Investigate Sleep Irregularity Determinants Among Undergraduate Students.

PURPOSE: To pilot a novel approach investigating the interplay of social and institutional determinants influencing university undergraduate student sleep patterns. DESIGN: A two-part, three-phase mixed-methods approach. SETTING: A mid-size US university conducted in spring and fall 2020. PARTICIPANTS: 191 undergraduate students (69 first-years, 43 second-years, 48 third-years, 31 fourth-years). METHOD: For Part A, participants texted their activities and emotions in real time, producing a data-rich, weeklong diary of comprehensive activity logs, emoticons, multimedia submissions, and juxtapositions of ideal vs real schedules. Semi-structured contextual interviews were also conducted. For Part B, a one-time survey examined Part A insights across all class years. These diverse datasets were triangulated using thematic, comparative, and content analyses through MAXQDA software and visual mapping methods. RESULTS: Three preliminary themes were identified as encouraging an irregular sleep schedule: a prevailing academic ethos emphasizing busyness, time management challenges, and the rhythm of institutional schedules and deadlines. An overarching theme suggests that perceptions of peer sleep habits and academic prioritization above all else could be influential across factors. CONCLUSION: This pilot study indicates that sleep regularity among undergraduates is potentially shaped by individual choices combined with broader institutional paradigms. While it is limited by its exploratory nature, timing, and small sample size, the results highlight the promise of this methodology for more extensive studies and suggest that future interventions should emphasize systemic changes that prioritize sleep.

Is attention necessary for the representational advantage of good exemplars over bad exemplars?

Real-world (rw-) statistical regularities, or expectations about the visual world learned over a lifetime, have been found to be associated with scene perception efficiency. For example, good (i.e., highly representative) exemplars of basic scene categories, one example of an rw-statistical regularity, are detected more readily than bad exemplars of the category. Similarly, good exemplars achieve higher multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) classification accuracy than bad exemplars in scene-responsive regions of interest, particularly in the parahippocampal place area (PPA). However, it is unclear whether the good exemplar advantages observed depend on or are even confounded by selective attention. Here, we ask whether the observed neural advantage of the good scene exemplars requires full attention. We used a dual-task paradigm to manipulate attention and exemplar representativeness while recording neural responses with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Both univariate analysis and MVPA were adopted to examine the effect of representativeness. In the attend-to-scenes condition, our results replicated an earlier study showing that good exemplars evoke less activity but a clearer category representation than bad exemplars. Importantly, similar advantages of the good exemplars were also observed when participants were distracted by a serial visual search task demanding a high attention load. In addition, cross-decoding between attended and distracted representations revealed that attention resulted in a quantitative (increased activation) rather than qualitative (altered activity patterns) improvement of the category representation, particularly for good exemplars. We, therefore, conclude that the effect of category representativeness on neural representations does not require full attention.

Routine regularity during a global pandemic: Impact on mental health outcomes and influence of chronotype.

Among the public health recommendations for supporting mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, many strategies had an impact on biological rhythms, like sleep hygiene, physical exercise and healthy eating habits. Considering the known relationship between circadian organization and mental health, our aim was to test the association between behavioral regularity and mental health, and its interaction with chronotype, in a large sample surveyed in Brazil. We collected longitudinal data using online questionnaires that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, behavioral routines, mental health (PHQ-9, GAD-7, WHO-5 scales), and chronotype estimation based on midpoint of sleep on free days - MSF (µMCTQ), in a sample of 1390 participants (81% females). We computed a Routine Regularity Score (RRS) that reflects regularity across four behaviors: sleep, eating, working, exercising. There was a strong negative association between RRS and the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms (GAD-7 and PHQ-9 scores), which was weaker among participants with late MSF, and a strong positive association with well-being (WHO-5 scores). RRS was a mediator of the MSF-mental health association and a predictor of mental health states. This study provides empirical evidence that maintaining behavioral routines during times of hardship may serve as tools to alleviate the negative impact on mental health.