Nesting and nighttime behaviours of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Abstract Studies of nesting behaviours of free-ranging apes typically focus on ecological variables such as preferred tree species and areas within the home range, heights of nests, and nest group sizes. However, nesting in captive apes is rarely studied, despite the ubiquity of this sleep-related behaviour. The paucity of field data is often attributed to the inherent difficulty in observing what is essentially a nighttime behaviour. Captive settings can provide researchers with an ideal opportunity to record nesting and sleep-related behaviours, yet such research on captive apes is also scant. Topics addressed include current practices in zoos regarding conditions for sleep in great apes, the potential effects of social and environmental factors on sleep site selection, the motor patterns involved in nest construction, preferred nesting structures and substrates, and nocturnal behaviours. This thesis documented and empirically tested hypotheses concerning nest-related activities in captive chimpanzees, with an aim to generate practical recommendations for enclosure design, sleeping areas, sleeping structures, and nesting substrates that have implications for the welfare of captive apes. As with the few reports that already exist, most chimpanzees in this research frequently constructed night nests. When building a nest, some techniques appeared to be universal across individuals and groups, where others were group-specific or occasionally characteristic of only certain individuals. An experiment showed that specific materials are preferred over others for nest building. Many chimpanzees appeared to express persistent preferences for particular sleeping sites, and for some this was to maintain proximity to kin or other closely bonded individuals. In one group, individual sleeping site preferences changed across seasons, although again this was subject to individual differences. Video analyses of nighttime behaviours demonstrated that, although nests/sleep sites are primarily used for rest subsequent to retirement, a number of social and non-social activities were performed throughout the night. In conjunction with analysis of postural and orientation shifts, these data are unique in describing the nocturnal behaviours of chimpanzees out with a laboratory setting. Several aspects of nest-related behaviours showed a high degree of inter-and intra-group variation. Although this cautions against generalising findings across captive populations, research of this type has applied implications for the management of captive ape species, and can add to our as-yet meagre understanding of their nest and sleep-related behaviours

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 138 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in Jun. 1980

The Association Between Physiologic Sources of Pain and Sleep Quality in Older Adults and People with Dementia

The association between physiologic sources of pain and sleep quality in older adults and people with dementia was examined in this dissertation. Previous research illustrates multiple factors contribute to sleep quality outcomes. Musculoskeletal pain, respiratory distress, gastrointestinal discomfort, and genitourinary pain were examined in relation to sleep quality in older adults and people with dementia. No theory currently exists to guide this nursing research, therefore an illustration of pain and sleep quality in older adults and people with dementia was utilized. Descriptive data analysis and logistic regression were used to address the study aims. The findings from this research illustrate dementia, gender, pillow use, respiratory distress, and urinary retention were factors statistically significantly associated with nighttime sleep quality in older adults and people with dementia. Results from this study suggest comprehensive assessments of pain and sleep for older adults and PWD are needed. Future studies may include larger sample sizes with multiple different long-term care organizations using different payer sources. Research exploring factors associated with poor sleep and developing and testing of interventions that address these contributing factors may also improve sleep outcomes

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 355)

This bibliography lists 147 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during October, 1991. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

The spectrum of REM sleep-related episodes in children with type 1 narcolepsy

Type 1 narcolepsy is a central hypersomnia due to the loss of hypocretin-producing neurons and characterized by cataplexy, excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations and disturbed nocturnal sleep. In children, close to the disease onset, type 1 narcolepsy has peculiar clinical features with severe cataplexy and a complex admixture of movement disorders occurring while awake. Motor dyscontrol during sleep has never been systematically investigated. Suspecting that abnormal motor control might affect also sleep, we systematically analysed motor events recorded by means of video polysomnography in 40 children with type 1 narcolepsy (20 females; mean age 11.8 \ub1 2.6 years) and compared these data with those recorded in 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Motor events were classified as elementary movements, if brief and non-purposeful and complex behaviours, if simulating purposeful behaviours. Complex behaviours occurring during REM sleep were further classified as 'classically-defined' and 'pantomime-like' REM sleep behaviour disorder episodes, based on their duration and on their pattern (i.e. brief and vivid-energetic in the first case, longer and with subcontinuous gesturing mimicking daily life activity in the second case). Elementary movements emerging either from non-REM or REM sleep were present in both groups, even if those emerging from REM sleep were more numerous in the group of patients. Conversely, complex behaviours could be detected only in children with type 1 narcolepsy and were observed in 13 patients, with six having 'classically-defined' REM sleep behaviour disorder episodes and seven having 'pantomime-like' REM sleep behaviour disorder episodes. Complex behaviours during REM sleep tended to recur in a stereotyped fashion for several times during the night, up to be almost continuous. Patients displaying a more severe motor dyscontrol during REM sleep had also more severe motor disorder during daytime (i.e. status cataplecticus) and more complaints of disrupted nocturnal sleep and of excessive daytime sleepiness. The neurophysiological hallmark of this severe motor dyscontrol during REM sleep was a decreased atonia index. The present study reports for the first time the occurrence of a severe and peculiar motor disorder during REM sleep in paediatric type 1 narcolepsy and confirms the presence of a severe motor dyscontrol in these patients, emerging not only from wakefulness (i.e. status cataplecticus), but also from sleep (i.e. complex behaviours during REM sleep). This is probably related to the acute imbalance of the hypocretinergic system, which physiologically acts by promoting movements during wakefulness and suppressing them during sleep

Proceedings experiencing light 2009 : international conference on the effects of light on welbeing

no abstrac

Proceedings experiencing light 2009 : international conference on the effects of light on welbeing

no abstrac

Methods for monitoring the human circadian rhythm in free-living

Our internal clock, the circadian clock, determines at which time we have our best cognitive abilities, are physically strongest, and when we are tired. Circadian clock phase is influenced primarily through exposure to light. A direct pathway from the eyes to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, where the circadian clock resides, is used to synchronise the circadian clock to external light-dark cycles. In modern society, with the ability to work anywhere at anytime and a full social agenda, many struggle to keep internal and external clocks synchronised. Living against our circadian clock makes us less efficient and poses serious health impact, especially when exercised over a long period of time, e.g. in shift workers. Assessing circadian clock phase is a cumbersome and uncomfortable task. A common method, dim light melatonin onset testing, requires a series of eight saliva samples taken in hourly intervals while the subject stays in dim light condition from 5 hours before until 2 hours past their habitual bedtime. At the same time, sensor-rich smartphones have become widely available and wearable computing is on the rise. The hypothesis of this thesis is that smartphones and wearables can be used to record sensor data to monitor human circadian rhythms in free-living. To test this hypothesis, we conducted research on specialised wearable hardware and smartphones to record relevant data, and developed algorithms to monitor circadian clock phase in free-living. We first introduce our smart eyeglasses concept, which can be personalised to the wearers head and 3D-printed. Furthermore, hardware was integrated into the eyewear to recognise typical activities of daily living (ADLs). A light sensor integrated into the eyeglasses bridge was used to detect screen use. In addition to wearables, we also investigate if sleep-wake patterns can be revealed from smartphone context information. We introduce novel methods to detect sleep opportunity, which incorporate expert knowledge to filter and fuse classifier outputs. Furthermore, we estimate light exposure from smartphone sensor and weather in- formation. We applied the Kronauer model to compare the phase shift resulting from head light measurements, wrist measurements, and smartphone estimations. We found it was possible to monitor circadian phase shift from light estimation based on smartphone sensor and weather information with a weekly error of 32±17min, which outperformed wrist measurements in 11 out of 12 participants. Sleep could be detected from smartphone use with an onset error of 40±48 min and wake error of 42±57 min. Screen use could be detected smart eyeglasses with 0.9 ROC AUC for ambient light intensities below 200lux. Nine clusters of ADLs were distinguished using Gaussian mixture models with an average accuracy of 77%. In conclusion, a combination of the proposed smartphones and smart eyeglasses applications could support users in synchronising their circadian clock to the external clocks, thus living a healthier lifestyle

Aerospace Medicine and Biology. A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 151

This bibliography lists 195 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1976

More-than-human Nights:Intersecting lived experience and diurnal rhythms in the nocturnal city

The contemporary nocturnal city is characterised by the interplay of luminosity and darkness, a chiaroscuro tableau inhabited by a myriad of flora and fauna—including, of course, humans. What patterns, rhythms, and indeed disturbances can be detected in this patchwork i.e. how do humans, non-humans, and wider natural cycles and rhythms co-produce the nocturnal urban environment? How is this coexistence of light and darkness inhabited by these multiple species? In short, how is the night moved through, and how does it move through us and our non-human companions? This paper is sited at the intersection of two perspectives on the urban night—first, lived experience and the affective dimension of the nocturnal city; and second, the wider rhythms of the city and the sky above that inscribe themselves into us and our companions. It asks how we, as researchers, can be attentive to the urban night so as to bring these two perspectives together. To do this, we will discuss two methods that the authors have used to inhabit and describe the urban night—one a perambulatory autoethnography of urban edgelands described through text and photography, the other an ethnography of urban temporality using photographic and sonic field recording techniques. Together, the authors’ different approaches pay close attention to both the human and non-human dimensions of the environment. We examine the diversity of nocturnal atmospheres, ambiances, and soundscapes to better understand their meanings and uses. Furthermore, we do this in a way that is attentive to the various spatial and temporal scales of darkness and light—from the palpable immediacy of lived experience or the daily tides of rush hour traffic to the changing phases of the moon or the activities of migrating birds or foraging beetles. By bringing these methods together, our aim is to contribute to a toolkit for situated fieldwork that can be used to create a rich description of the nocturnal urban environment—particularly one that includes but does not privilege the human. Furthermore, the work aims to make such descriptions legible and accessible within and beyond academia