The effect of time and day of the week on burnout-related experiences:an experience sampling study

Burnout has traditionally been characterized as a relatively stable construct, leaving the question of whether and how burnout-related experiences fluctuate within and between days unaddressed. In the current study, we assess the effect of time of day (expressed as external time, internal time, or time awake) and day of the week on momentary experiences of the two core components of burnout, i.e., exhaustion and disengagement. We employed a 7-day experience sampling method in the field among 65 working employees, with seven momentary assessments per day. Results indicated that a large proportion of variance in burnout-related experiences occurred between moments (46%-68%), with only minor variance occurring between days within participants (2%-6%). Notably, experiences related to the disengagement component showed no clear pattern over the day, while exhaustion remained relatively stable throughout the morning and then increased moderately towards the end of the day. We conclude that burnout-related experiences typically fluctuate between moments, supporting the view of burnout as a dynamic rather than a purely static state. Furthermore, much of the variance in momentary burnout-related experiences remains to be explained in absence of a structural temporal pattern

Personal control of correlated color temperature of light:Effects on thermal comfort, visual comfort, and cognitive performance

Recent studies have suggested that thermal and visual comfort are correlated, although the causality underlying this correlation is unclear. Personal control of correlated color temperature (CCT) provides individual visual comfort, but its effects on other parameters such as thermal comfort and cognitive performance remain underexamined. Therefore, we investigated if personal control of CCT can, on top of visual comfort, enhance thermal comfort and cognitive performance in office scenarios while exposed to mild cold (17 °C) using a 2x2 within-subject design. Sixteen participants were initially exposed to CCT of either 2700 K or 5700 K for 70 min. In the subsequent 70 min, participants either had free control of CCT or no control. As expected, personal control of CCT improved visual comfort and mitigated perceived eye-related symptoms. However, it did not significantly affect thermal comfort for either antecedent CCT. When the antecedent CCT was 5700 K, personal control of CCT increased alertness and physiological arousal, improved the planning and verbal cognitive performance, but, unexpectedly, decreased performance on mental spatial manipulation tasks. Additional analyses then explored the role of the psychological and personalization effects of personal control by controlling for the actual CCT. These suggest that control benefited visual comfort, eye-related symptoms, perceived task performance, pleasure, alertness and physiological arousal. This study is one of the first studies to demonstrate that visual comfort does not causally affect thermal comfort. Personal control of CCT benefits visual appraisals and eye-related symptoms, sometimes improves alertness, but differentially influences cognitive performance depending on the task type.</p

Light, alertness, and alerting effects of white light:A literature overview

Light is known to elicit non-image-forming responses, such as effects on alertness. This has been reported especially during light exposure at night. Nighttime results might not be translatable to the day. This article aims to provide an overview of (1) neural mechanisms regulating alertness, (2) ways of measuring and quantifying alertness, and (3) the current literature specifically regarding effects of different intensities of white light on various measures and correlates of alertness during the daytime. In general, the present literature provides inconclusive results on alerting effects of the intensity of white light during daytime, particularly for objective measures and correlates of alertness. However, the various research paradigms employed in earlier studies differed substantially, and most studies tested only a limited set of lighting conditions. Therefore, the alerting potential of exposure to more intense white light should be investigated in a systematic, dose-dependent manner with multiple correlates of alertness and within one experimental paradigm over the course of day

Match and Mismatch between Lived Experiences of Daytime Sleepiness and Diagnostic Instruments:A Qualitative Study amongst Patients with Sleep Disorders

Excessive daytime sleepiness is a common symptom of sleep disorders. Despite its prevalence, it remains difficult to define, detect, and address. The difficulties surrounding sleepiness have been linked to an ambiguous conceptualization, a large variety of scales and measures, and the overlap with other constructs, such as fatigue. The present study aims to investigate patients’ descriptions of sleepiness-related daytime complaints and their phenomenology. We performedsemi-directed interviews with patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (N = 15) or narcolepsy (N = 5). The interviewers took care of utilizing the participants’ terminology when describing daytime complaints related to their sleep disorder. Various aspects of the daytime complaints were investigated, such as their description and temporality. The transcribed content was thematicallyanalyzed using an eclectic coding system, yielding five themes. The participants used different interchangeable descriptors (tired, sleepy, fatigued, exhausted) to express their daytime complaints. They enriched their description with indexes of magnitude (ranging from ‘not especially’ to ‘most gigantic, extreme’), oppositions to other states (using antipodes like energy, alertness, wakefulness, orrest), and indications of fluctuations over the day. Interestingly, the participants often used metaphors to express their experiences and their struggles. The lived experiences of the patients were found to not always align with common self-reported monitoring tools of sleepiness and to relate only in part with current conceptions. In practice, it is important to probe daytime complaints, such as daytime sleepiness, with a broader consideration, for example, by exploring antipodes, consequences, and time-of-day fluctuations

ENLIGHT:A consensus checklist for reporting laboratory-based studies on the non-visual effects of light in humans

Background: There is no consensus on reporting light characteristics in studies investigating non-visual responses to light. This project aimed to develop a reporting checklist for laboratory-based investigations on the impact of light on non-visual physiology. Methods: A four-step modified Delphi process (three questionnaire-based feedback rounds and one face-to-face group discussion) involving international experts was conducted to reach consensus on the items to be included in the checklist. Following the consensus process, the resulting checklist was tested in a pilot phase with independent experts. Findings: An initial list of 61 items related to reporting light-based interventions was condensed to a final checklist containing 25 items, based upon consensus among experts (final n = 60). Nine items were deemed necessary to report regardless of research question or context. A description of each item is provided in the accompanying Explanation and Elaboration (E&amp;E) document. The independent pilot testing phase led to minor textual clarifications in the checklist and E&amp;E document. Interpretation: The ENLIGHT Checklist is the first consensus-based checklist for documenting and reporting ocular light-based interventions for human studies. The implementation of the checklist will enhance the impact of light-based research by ensuring comprehensive documentation, enhancing reproducibility, and enabling data aggregation across studies. Funding: Network of European Institutes for Advanced Study (NETIAS) Constructive Advanced Thinking (CAT) programme; Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship (Wellcome Trust, 204686/Z/16/Z); Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development VENI fellowship (2020–09150161910128); U.S. Department of Defense Grant (W81XWH-16-1-0223); National University of Singapore (NUHSRO/2022/038/Startup/08); and National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF2022-THE004-0002).</p

An inventory of human light exposure behaviour

Light exposure is an essential driver of health and well-being, and individual behaviours during rest and activity modulate physiologically relevant aspects of light exposure. Further understanding the behaviours that influence individual photic exposure patterns may provide insight into the volitional contributions to the physiological effects of light and guide behavioural points of intervention. Here, we present a novel, self-reported and psychometrically validated inventory to capture light exposure-related behaviour, the Light Exposure Behaviour Assessment (LEBA). An expert panel prepared the initial 48-item pool spanning different light exposure-related behaviours. Responses, consisting of rating the frequency of engaging in the per-item behaviour on a five-point Likert-type scale, were collected in an online survey yielding responses from a geographically unconstrained sample (690 completed responses, 74 countries, 28 time zones). The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on an initial subsample (n = 428) rendered a five-factor solution with 25 items (wearing blue light filters, spending time outdoors, using a phone and smartwatch in bed, using light before bedtime, using light in the morning and during daytime). In a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) performed on an independent subset of participants (n = 262), we removed two additional items to attain the best fit for the five-factor solution (CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.06). The internal consistency reliability coefficient for the total instrument yielded McDonald’s Omega = 0.68. Measurement model invariance analysis between native and non-native English speakers showed our model attained the highest level of invariance (residual invariance CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.05). Lastly, a short form of the LEBA (n = 18 items) was developed using Item Response Theory on the complete sample (n = 690). The psychometric properties of the LEBA indicate the usability for measuring light exposure-related behaviours. The instrument may offer a scalable solution to characterise behaviours that influence individual photic exposure patterns in remote samples. The LEBA inventory is available under the open-access CC-BY license. Instrument webpage: https://leba-instrument.org/ GitHub repository containing this manuscript: https://github.com/leba-instrument/leba-manuscript

Targeted screening of inflammatory mediators in spontaneous degenerative disc disease in dogs reveals an upregulation of the tumor necrosis superfamily

Background: The regulation of inflammatory mediators in the degenerating intervertebral disc (IVD) and corresponding ligamentum flavum (LF) is a topic of emerging interest. The study aimed to investigate the expression of a broad array of inflammatory mediators in the degenerated LF and IVD using a dog model of spontaneous degenerative disc disease (DDD) to determine potential treatment targets. Methods: LF and IVD tissues were collected from 22 normal dogs (Pfirrmann grades I and II) and 18 dogs affected by DDD (Pfirrmann grades III and IV). A qPCR gene array was used to investigate the expression of 80 inflammatory genes for LF and IVD tissues, whereafter targets of interest were investigated in additional tissue samples using qPCR, western blot (WB), and immunohistochemistry. Results: Tumor necrosis factor superfamily (TNFSF) signaling was identified as a regulated pathway in DDD, based on the significant regulation (n-fold ± SD) of various TNFSF members in the degenerated IVD, including nerve growth factor (NGF; -8 ± 10), CD40LG (464 ± 442), CD70 (341 ± 336), TNFSF Ligand 10 (9 ± 8), and RANKL/TNFSF Ligand 11 (85 ± 74). In contrast, TNFSF genes were not significantly affected in the degenerated LF compared to the control LF. Protein expression of NGF (WB) was significantly upregulated in both the degenerated LF (4.4 ± 0.5) and IVD (11.3 ± 5.6) compared to the control group. RANKL immunopositivity was significantly upregulated in advanced stages of degeneration (Thompson grades IV and V) in the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus of the IVD, but not in the LF. Conclusions: DDD involves a significant upregulation of various TN

Growth forms and life-history strategies predict the occurrence of aquatic macrophytes in relation to environmental factors in a shallow peat lake complex

Aquatic ecosystems provide vital services, and macrophytes play a critical role in their functioning. Conceptual models indicate that in shallow lakes, plants with different growth strategies are expected to inhabit contrasting habitats. For shallow peat lakes, characterized by incohesive sediments, roles of growth forms, life-history strategies and environmental factors in determining the occurrence of aquatic vegetation remain unknown. In a field survey, we sampled 64 points in a peat lake complex and related macrophyte occurrence to growth forms (floating-leaved rooted and submerged), life-history strategies for overwintering (turions, seeds, rhizomes) and environmental factors (water depth, fetch, and porewater nutrients). Our survey showed that macrophyte occurrence relates to water depth, wind-fetch, and nutrients, and depends on growth form and life-history strategies. Specifically, rooted floating-leaved macrophytes occur at lower wind-fetch/shallower waters. Submerged macrophytes occur from low to greater wind-fetch/water depth, depending on life-history strategies; macrophytes with rhizomes occur at greater wind-fetch/depth relative to species that overwinter with seeds or turions. We conclude that growth form and life-history strategies for overwintering predict macrophytes occurrence regarding environmental factors in peat lakes. Therefore, we propose an adapted model for macrophyte occurrence for such lakes. Altogether, these results may aid in species-selection to revegetate peat lakes depending on its environment

Drought, mutualism breakdown, and landscape-scale degradation of seagrass beds

In many marine ecosystems, biodiversity critically depends on foundation species such as corals and seagrasses that engage in mutualistic interactions [1-3]. Concerns grow that environmental disruption of marine mutualisms exacerbates ecosystem degradation, with breakdown of the obligate coral mutualism ("coral bleaching") being an iconic example [2, 4, 5]. However, as these mutualisms are mostly facultative rather than obligate, it remains unclear whether mutualism breakdown is a common risk in marine ecosystems, and thus a potential accelerator of ecosystem degradation. Here, we provide evidence that drought triggered landscape-scale seagrass degradation and show the consequent failure of a facultative mutualistic feedback between seagrass and sulfide-consuming lucinid bivalves that in turn appeared to exacerbate the observed collapse. Local climate and remote sensing analyses revealed seagrass collapse after a summer with intense low-tide drought stress. Potential analysis-a novel approach to detect feedback-mediated state shifts-revealed two attractors (healthy and degraded states) during the collapse, suggesting that the drought disrupted internal feedbacks to cause abrupt, patch-wise degradation. Field measurements comparing degraded patches that were healthy before the collapse with patches that remained healthy demonstrated that bivalves declined dramatically in degrading patches with associated high sediment sulfide concentrations, confirming the breakdown of the mutualistic seagrass-lucinid feedback. Our findings indicate that drought triggered mutualism breakdown, resulting in toxic sulfide concentrations that aggravated seagrass degradation. We conclude that external disturbances can cause sudden breakdown of facultative marine mutualistic feedbacks. As this may amplify ecosystem degradation, we suggest including mutualisms in marine conservation and restoration approaches

Vitamin D as an Adjunctive Therapy in Asthma. Part 1: A Review of Potential Mechanisms

Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is highly prevalent worldwide. The classical role for vitamin D is to regulate calcium absorption form the gastrointestinal tract and influence bone health. Recently vitamin D receptors and vitamin D metabolic enzymes have been discovered in numerous sites systemically supporting diverse extra-skeletal roles of vitamin D, for example in asthmatic disease. Further, VDD and asthma share several common risk factors including high latitude, winter season, industrialization, poor diet, obesity, and dark skin pigmentation. Vitamin D has been demonstrated to possess potent immunomodulatory effects, including effects on T cells and B cells as well as increasing production of antimicrobial peptides (e.g. cathelicidin). This immunomodulation may lead to asthma specific clinical benefits in terms of decreased bacterial/viral infections, altered airway smooth muscle-remodeling and efunction as well as modulation of response to standard anti-asthma therapy (e.g. glucocorticoids and immunotherapy). Thus, vitamin D and its deficiency have a number of biological effects that are potentially important in altering the course of disease pathogenesis and severity in asthma. The purpose of this first of a two-part review is to review potential mechanisms whereby altering vitamin D status may influence asthmatic disease