O impacto da dimensão matutinidade/vespertinidade pode interferir no comportamento social e na saúde do indivíduo. Nos últimos anos, esta dimensão tem sido amplamente estudada dentro do âmbito da cronobiologia. Este estudo transversal teve como objetivo determinar o cronotipo de estudantes universitários do 6º semestre dos cursos de turno integral da Universidade de Passo Fundo - Rio Grande do Sul e observar a associação desses cronotipos com parâmetros sociodemográficos, comportamentais e também com a qualidade do sono, a sonolência diurna e distúrbios psiquiátricos menores. Os instrumentos utilizados na pesquisa foram: Pittsburg (PSQI), para avaliar a prevalência da qualidade do sono; Horne Ostberg (MEQ), para determinar o cronotipo; o SRQ20, para os distúrbios psiquiátricos menores; o Epwort (ESS), para sonolência diurna; o AUDIT, para o uso de álcool, e um questionário para variáveis sociodemográficas e comportamentais. Participaram do estudo 372 estudantes, 66,7% do sexo feminino e 33,3% masculino, com idade média de 21,6 anos DP±3,08 (IC min18 max 50); 92,2% não faziam uso de tabaco; 58,9% praticam atividade física e 58,6 % apresentaram consumo de risco para o álcool; referiram trabalhar no terceiro turno 19,7%. Quanto à prevalência para os cronotipos, foram encontrados cronotipos indiferentes 55,9%, seguidos de 39,5% para vespertinos e 4,6% matutinos. Cronotipos vespertinos foram associados ao sexo masculino odds ratio OR=1,72; pobre qualidade do sono OR=1,89; distúrbios psiquiátricos menores OR=1,92 e uso de tabaco OR=3,65. Estes resultados apontam a necessidade de ações educativas e preventivas para esta população vulnerável, no intuito de minimizar possíveis danos à sua saúde física e mental. / The impact of morningness-eveningness dimension can affect social behavior and individual health. The aim of the present study was to determine the chronotype of full time university students in the 6th semester of the Universidade de Passo Fundo - Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil - and evaluate its influence in behavioral parameters. The instruments used in the study were: a demographic questionnaire; PSQI to evaluate sleep quality; MEQ to determine chronotypes; SRQ-20 to minor psychiatric disorders; ESS to daytime sleepiness; AUDIT to alcohol use. 372 students participated in the study: 66.7% were female and 33.3% were male; aged 21.6 years + 3.08 (mean +SD). 92,2% did not use tobacco, 58.9% practiced physical activity and 58,6 showed risks of alcohol abuse; 19.7% reported working in third shift. Regarding the prevalence of chronotypes, it was found 55,9% of indifferent chronotypes, 39,5% of evening, and 4,6% of morning type. Evening chronotypes was associated that male gender odds ratio OR =1,72; poor sleep quality OR=1,89; minor psyquiatric disorders OR= 1,92 and tobacco use OR=3,65. So this study concluded that evening chronotype was related with gender, poor sleep quality, minor psychiatric disorders and tobacco use in the studied population and points to preventive actions and education for this vulnerable population.

Commercial vehicle drivers are required to maintain Department Of Transportation medical certification which entails a Commercial Driver Medical Examination (CDME) and optimally leads to a two-year certification. The examination must be performed by a licensed "medical examiner" administered by a variety of health care providers including physicians, advanced registered nurse practitioners, physician assistants and doctors of chiropractic. Unfavorable findings in the examination can yield either a shortened medical certification period or denial of certification. Sleep disorders including sleep apnea are assessed by a single question located in the health history portion of the CDME form which is filled-out by the examinee. A positive response to this single item often prompts the medical examiner to further supplement this question using a subjective questionnaire, such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. This particular questionnaire generates a total score based on the examinee's subjective responses to eight items regarding the propensity to doze-off or fall asleep in different scenarios, thus indicating daytime sleepiness. Commercial drivers depend on the medical certification for their livelihood and it is hypothesized that subjective responses regarding daytime sleepiness are distorted in an effort to attain optimal DOT certification.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第19603号 / 医博第4110号 / 新制||医||1014(附属図書館) / 32639 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 中山 健夫, 教授 富樫 かおり, 教授 松田 秀一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

No description available.

Research has shown that riding a motorcycle can potentially be much more dangerous than operating a conventional vehicle. There are factors inherent in driving or riding a small two wheeled vehicle, such as a motorcycle, moped or even bicycle that can potentially decrease their ability to be seen or noticed by other drivers. This disadvantage is reflected in the disproportionate over-representation of injuries and/or fatalities incurred by this particular driving group. This creates a significant problem which deserves dedicated evaluation as to causative factors and/or influential variables. The following research was conducted with intentions to investigate the topic of motorcycle conspicuity so as to further explain the variables which positively contribute to a motorcycle being seen and to supplement the body of knowledge that currently exists on this topic. This study specifically evaluated the influence of sex, age, motorcycle lighting conditions, and vehicular daytime running lights upon one's ability to effectively detect a motorcycle within a "high fidelity" simulated environment. This research additionally sought to examine the feasibility and validity of using a novel fixed base "high fidelity" simulator for the evaluation of motorcycle conspicuity. The results from this research clearly indicate a link between vehicular DRLs and the effective detection of motorcycles and also support previous research as to the effectiveness of motorcycle DRLs. Additionally, these results suggest that as one ages, certain degradations in vision, cognition, and physiology occur which decrease one's performance in detecting and responding to a motorcycle. These findings additionally provide support for the use of a "high definition" fixed base simulator as a valid technology for the evaluation of motorcycle conspicuity.

Bakgrund: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) är en underbehandlad sjukdom som påverkar välbefinnande och hälsa. Sömnsituationen hos personer med RLS är komplex och påverkas av symtom och varierande omständigheter. Förmågan att ta sig an de utmaningar som kommer med symtom på kvällen och natten erfars stressande och tidigare forskning tyder på att fler erfar symtom än antal personer som får diagnos, vilket leder till onödigt lidande.  Syfte: Syftet var att utforska och beskriva hur personer med RLS erfar sin sömnsituation.  Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie med manifest innehållsanalys genomfördes av 25 personer med RLS bosatta i olika delar av Sverige. KASAM utgör den teoretiska ramen i studien. Resultat: Stress över att känna symtom på kvällen och natten samt svårigheter att sova erfors. Rutiner och distraktion var viktiga för att kunna sova. Oro över att inte hitta symtomlindrande behandling återberättades av informanterna, som ofta själva sökte efter fungerande medicinsk behandling. Ständig trötthet erfors och kunde leda till psykiska konsekvenser men även svårigheter med sociala kontakter och på arbetet. Slutsats: Det finns stora kunskapsluckor om RLS och dess påverkan på sömnen, därför behövs mer forskning inom området för att distriktssköterskan ska kunna hjälpa personer med RLS att få en bättre sömnkvalitet och ökat välbefinnande. / Background: RLS is an undertreated disease that affects well-being and health. For people with RLS, sleeping is a complex siuation and affected by symptoms in varying forms. Coping with symptoms that come at night is described as stressful, and previous research suggests that more people than diagnosed experience symptoms, which leads to unneccessary suffering.  Purpose: To explore and describe how people with RLS experience their sleeping situation. Method: A qualitative interview study with manifest content analysis was conducted by 25 people with RLS living in Sweden. KASAM forms the theoretical framework of the study. Result: Stress over feeling symptoms in the evening and at night as well as difficulty sleeping. Routines and distraction were important to being able to sleep. Concerns about not finding symptom-relieving treatment was recounted by the informants, who often searched for effective medical treatment themselves. Constant fatigue was experienced and could lead to psychological consequences but also difficulties with social contacts and at work. Conclusion: There are large gaps in knowledge about RLS and its impact on sleep, therefore more research is needed in the area so that the district nurse can help people with RLS get a better quality of sleep and increased well-being.

No description available.

Renewable energy sources have received increasing attention in electric power systems around the world due to growing environmental concerns. Wind and solar are among the most promising alternatives to conventional energy generation. There has been a rapid growth of wind and solar energy integration in power systems in the last decade, and is expected to grow further in the years to come. The main concern with wind and solar energy sources is the uncertainty and the intermittency of power generation, which leads to problems in maintaining the overall system reliability. The impacts of these sources on bulk system reliability depend on a large number of factors. The strength of the wind or solar resource at the installation site, the existing renewable power penetration level in the system, the points of connection of these sources to the power grid, the correlation in resource availability between multiple installation sites, and the correlation between the load and the renewable power are key factors that are analyzed in this thesis. These factors are considered in evaluating the bulk system reliability and reliability benefits of wind and solar power sources, and the reliability worth to the electricity customers from the addition of these energy sources. The IEEE-RTS test system is utilized throughout the thesis to evaluate the effects of these factors on bulk system adequacy. Swift Current and Saskatoon wind resources are modeled and utilized in this thesis. The Swift Current area has a strong wind resource and provides better reliability benefit and reliability worth than the Saskatoon wind resource. The benefits from wind and solar power integration, however, also depend significantly on the location where it is connected to the grid network. Wind farms that are diversified in multiple regions with independent wind speed profiles provide superior reliability benefits and worth than wind farms located in one region. The incremental benefits of adding wind or solar power decreases as the renewable power penetration is increased in the power system. Wind power at practical locations provides higher reliability benefits than photovoltaics. However, the daytime contribution of photovoltaics to system reliability is relatively high. The reliability benefits and reliability worth of solar power are significantly different for different seasons. A comparison study on reliability benefit and worth between a wind integrated bulk system and a solar integrated bulk system is also done in this thesis in order to identify the best option for bulk system reliability.

The purpose of this thsis is to develop a vision perception based Intelligent Vehicle Driving Assistant System ( IVDAS ), which utilizes CCD camera to capture the movement of vehicle and road image on DSP-Based . According to daytime and night time, we analyzed the full information in the image to acquire the important and proper characteristics about lane mark and vehicle. There are two sub-systems in our system , including Lane Mark Detection and Vehicle Detection. The main goal is to identify if there are existing vehicles in the front of or near our vehicle. This system can provide information for the Intelligent Vehicle to make decision to avoid accident happening and assisted driver in driving safely.

As activity levels of intensively managed broiler chicken vary over time, detailed knowledge on their influence is potentially useful to further adjust welfare assessment schemes. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of daytime and age on the performance of broiler chicken in two applied fear tests.On-farm studies were carried out in 14 flocks of intensively managed broiler chicken. A forced and a voluntary approach test were conducted during morning and evening hours and at three different ages (1: 6-12d; 2: 21-24d; 3: prior to slaughter). At each observation, avoidance distances (AD) and the number of animals voluntarily approaching (VA) an observer were collected.No significant correlation was found between daytime and AD or VA. When tested at different ages, daytime and VA were significantly correlated (1: r= 0.56*; 2: r= 0.40*; 3: r= 0.64*), but the results were not consistent. At three weeks the VA was found to be higher in the morning but at younger age and prior to slaughter, more birds approach an observer in the evening. Both, approach and avoidance peaked at three weeks and decreased prior to slaughter. Further, the effect of differing observer locations in the chicken house on the behavioural response of broiler chicken was studied. A higher proportion of birds voluntarily approached an unknown human in the area close to the main entrance door, but the avoidance behaviour was not affected.From the results of this study I conclude, that the time of assessment has no effect on avoidance or approach behaviour of commercial slow-growing broiler chicken. However, fear related behaviour changed depending on age. This makes the applied tests potentially applicable independent of daytime restrictions when performed with birds of the same age.