Sleep habits and starting time to school in Brazilian children Hábitos de sono e período escolar em crianças brasileiras

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the sleep habits in Brazilian children according to age, gender and starting time to school. METHOD: We investigated 2,482 scholars aged 7 to 10 years. We compared sleep habits, gender, and starting time to school (morning and afternoon). RESULTS: Sixty-one per cent of the children presented sleep rituals before sleep. Milk drinking before sleep was more frequent among seven years old children. We found a progressive reduction with age in keeping the lights on. Girls used to leave an object to bed more than boys did. Children that studied in the morning presented reduced total sleep time, sleep earlier, and nap more frequently than children that studied in the afternoon. CONCLUSION: Starting time to school deeply influences sleep habits in Brazilian children from São Paulo City, in whom bed-time rituals are highly prevalent.<br>OBJETIVOS: Estudar os hábitos de sono nas crianças brasileiras de acordo com a idade, sexo e período escolar. MÉTODO: Estudamos 2.482 crianças em idade escolar de 7 a 10 anos. Comparamos hábitos de sono, sexo e período escolar (matutino e vespertino). RESULTADOS: 61% das crianças apresentaram rituais de sono antes de dormir. Beber leite antes de dormir foi mais freqüente entre as crianças de 7 anos de idade. Encontramos redução progressiva com a idade em se manter a luz acesa. Meninas possuíam mais objetos para dormir que os meninos. As crianças que estudavam no período matutino apresentaram redução do tempo total de sono, tinham sono mais cedo e os cochilos eram mais freqüentes do que as crianças que estudavam no período vespertino. CONCLUSÃO: O horário escolar tem muita influência nos hábitos de sono das crianças brasileiras da cidade de São Paulo, os rituais de sono sendo muito prevalentes

Does traumatic brain injury lead to criminality? A whole-population retrospective cohort study using linked data

© 2015 Schofield et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a risk factor for criminal behaviour however multiple factors potentially confound the association. Methods: Record linkage and Cox proportional hazards regression analyses were used to examine the association between hospital-recorded TBI (n = 7,694) and subsequent first criminal conviction in a retrospective cohort matched 1:3 with 22,905 unaffected community controls and full-sibling controls (n = 2,397). Aboriginality, substance abuse, social disadvantage, and mental illness were included in analyses as potential confounders Results: In multivariable models, relative to general population controls, TBI was associated with any conviction (males: Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.58 (95% CI 1.46 to 1.72); females: HR = 1.52 (95% CI 1.28 to 1.81)); and similar Hazard Ratios were obtained for the sibling analyses in males (HR = 1.68 (95% CI 1.31-2.18)) and females (HR 1.27 (95% CI 0.71-2.29)). TBI was also associated with violent convictions relative to the general population, (males: HR = 1.65 (95% CI 1.42 to 1.92); females HR = 1.73 (95% CI 1.21 to 2.47)), and in analyses with sibling controls in men (HR = 1.89 (95% CI 1.20-3.00)), but not in women (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.29-1.81)). Conclusion: The results support a modest causal link between TBI and criminality after comprehensive adjustment for confounding. Reducing the rate of TBI, a major public health imperative, might have benefits in terms of crime reduction

From bathymetry to bioshields: a review of post-tsunami ecological research in India and its implications for policy

More than half a decade has passed since the December 26th 2004 tsunami hit the Indian coast leaving a trail of ecological, economic and human destruction in its wake. We reviewed the coastal ecological research carried out in India in the light of the tsunami. In addition, we also briefly reviewed the ecological research in other tsunami affected countries in Asia namely Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Maldives in order to provide a broader perspective of ecological research after tsunami. A basic search in ISI Web of Knowledge using keywords "tsunami" and "India" resulted in 127 peer reviewed journal articles, of which 39 articles were pertaining to ecological sciences. In comparison, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and Maldives had, respectively, eight, four, 21 and two articles pertaining to ecology. In India, bioshields received the major share of scientific interest (14 out of 39) while only one study (each) was dedicated to corals, seagrasses, seaweeds and meiofauna, pointing to the paucity of research attention dedicated to these critical ecosystems. We noted that very few interdisciplinary studies looked at linkages between pure/applied sciences and the social sciences in India. In addition, there appears to be little correlation between the limited research that was done and its influence on policy in India. This review points to gap areas in ecological research in India and highlights the lessons learnt from research in other tsunami-affected countries. It also provides guidance on the links between science and policy that are required for effective coastal zone management. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.(IF52009 = 1.895; IF2009 = 1.503; CHL = 8.2).SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe