The Lived Experience of Postpartum Sleep for Black and White Women

This qualitative study utilized a phenomenological research approach (van Manen, 1990), and intersectional feminist lens (Collins, 2000; Crenshaw ,1989; hooks, 2000), to uncover the lived experience of sleep in the postpartum period. Participants were 10 mothers who were less than 12 months postpartum. Data collection consisted of in-depth interviews. Data analysis procedures followed recommendations by van Manen (1990, 1997). In order to increase the trustworthiness and rigor of the study, the researcher engaged in reflexive journaling, member checking, and peer debriefing. The results were organized into six themes; 1) the importance of the sleep environment, 2) anxiety and hypervigilance, 3) adjusting to changes and finding strategies, 4) balancing self-care, 5) the emotional experience of sleep, and 6) societal expectations of mothers and sleep. Quotes from participants are included to illustrate the findings. The results are discussed in relation to the theoretical framework of the study and the existing literature. Implications for research, clinical practice, and policy are identified. Strengths and weaknesses of the study are included, as well as suggestions for future research

BED AND BREAKFAST: THE ROLE OF SLEEP AND AFFECT IN BREAKFAST INTAKE

Breakfast intake is associated with numerous positive physical and mental health outcomes, yet breakfast skipping remains common in adults. Chronotype and sleep show potential as predictors of breakfast intake; however the existing literature has methodological limitations and fails to examine how psychological mechanisms might explain the relation between sleep and breakfast. The current investigation explored the association of means and variability of sleep behaviors (bedtime, midsleep, sleep duration) as predictors of breakfast intake frequency and high-protein breakfast intake frequency. Additionally, the role of positive and negative affect as mediators in the sleep—breakfast association was examined. Hierarchical regressions and PROCESS parallel mediation models were conducted to assess direct and indirect associations. Variability in bedtime was a significant predictor of breakfast intake frequency, with greater variability associated with less frequent intake. Future work is necessary to examine further the association of sleep and breakfast behaviors, and psychological mechanisms in this relation

Bed and Breakfast: The Role of Sleep in Breakfast Intake

Breakfast intake is associated with numerous positive physical and mental health outcomes, yet skipping breakfast remains common in adults. Sleep behaviors show potential as predictors of breakfast intake; the existing literature, however, has methodological limitations. The current investigation explored the association of means and intraindividual variability of a variety of sleep behaviors (bedtime, midsleep, sleep duration) as predictors of the frequency of eating breakfast and frequency of high-protein breakfast intake. Hierarchical regressions were conducted to assess direct associations between sleep behaviors and breakfast intake frequency. Variability in bedtime was a significant predictor of the frequency of breakfast intake, with greater variability associated with less frequent intake. Variability in sleep duration and midsleep was not significant predictors of the frequency of breakfast intake. Both variability and mean sleep behaviors were not significant predictors of the frequency of breakfast intake or high-protein breakfast intake. Because greater regularity in bedtimes was associated with more frequent breakfast intake, it is plausible that there should be increased education regarding the importance of regularity of sleep behaviors

The Association Between Discrimination and Sleep is Exacerbated in Individuals with Comorbid Chronic Health Conditions

Introduction: The consequences of recurrent, stressful daily experiences for sleep health appear intensified in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Although discrimination has been associated with sleep outcomes, the role of comorbid chronic health conditions (CCHCs), and impact of perceived discrimination, remains unclear. The present study investigated (1) the associations between daily discrimination and sleep and (2) moderating roles of CCHCs and daily life interference and hardship. Methods: The current study utilized archival data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Study II. Participants, 174 adults (51% female, Mage=57 yrs., SD=11.5 yrs.), completed 7 days of actigraphy, sleep diary, PSQI, and CCHC-reporting measures. Models examined the moderating effects of CCHCs, daily interference, and hardship on the association between discrimination and sleep. Results: Daily discriminatory experiences predicted numerous poor sleep outcomes, exacerbated for persons with higher CCHCs. Higher comorbidity (95% CI=5.40, 68.75) exacerbated the association between discrimination and TSTactigraphy, further strengthened by perceived hardship (95% CI=-3.75, -.40) and interference (95% CI=-3.65, -.30). Number of CCHCs, qualified by perceived hardship (95% CI=.00, .04) and interference (95% CI=.01, .05), predicted diary sleep quality above discrimination. The interaction between CCHCs and hardship predicted global PSQI scores (95% CI=-.91, -.12) beyond discrimination. Conclusion: Daily experiences of discrimination are associated with decreased sleep duration and quality. These associations were stronger for individuals with multiple CCHCs. Exacerbating CCHC effects were perpetuated by perceived interference and hardships, suggesting individual emotion regulation (ER) differences. Future research should attend to sleep-related consequences of differential discrimination-informed ER by persons with CCHCs.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1042/thumbnail.jp

Experimentally-induced ‘Testicular dysgenesis syndrome’ originates in the masculinization programming window

The testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS) hypothesis, which proposes that common reproductive disorders of newborn and adult human males may have a common fetal origin, is largely untested. We tested this hypothesis using a rat model involving gestational exposure to dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which suppresses testosterone production by the fetal testis. We evaluated if induction of TDS via testosterone suppression is restricted to the “masculinization programming window” (MPW), as indicated by reduction in anogenital distance (AGD). We show that DBP suppresses fetal testosterone equally during and after the MPW, but only DBP exposure in the MPW causes reduced AGD, focal testicular dysgenesis, and TDS disorders (cryptorchidism, hypospadias, reduced adult testis size, and compensated adult Leydig cell failure). Focal testicular dysgenesis, reduced size of adult male reproductive organs, and TDS disorders and their severity were all strongly associated with reduced AGD. We related our findings to human TDS cases by demonstrating similar focal dysgenetic changes in testes of men with preinvasive germ cell neoplasia (GCNIS) and in testes of DBP-MPW animals. If our results are translatable to humans, they suggest that identification of potential causes of human TDS disorders should focus on exposures during a human MPW equivalent, especially if negatively associated with offspring AGD

Elephant Moraine 96029, a very mildly aqueously altered and heated CM carbonaceous chondrite: Implications for the drivers of parent body processing

Elephant Moraine (EET) 96029 is a CMcarbonaceous chondrite regolith breccia with evidence for unusually mild aqueous alteration, a later phase of heating and terrestrial weathering. The presence of phyllosilicates and carbonates within chondrules and the fine-grained matrix indicates that this meteorite was aqueously altered in its parent body. Features showing that water-mediated processing was arrested at a very early stage include a matrix with a low magnesium/iron ratio, chondrules whose mesostasis contains glass and/or quench crystallites, and a gehlenite-bearing calcium- and aluminium-rich inclusion. EET 96029 is also rich in Fe,Ni metal relative to other CM chondrites, and more was present prior to its partial replacement by goethite during Antarctic weathering. In combination, these properties indicate that EET 96029 is one of the least aqueously altered CMs yet described (CM2.7) and so provides new insights into the original composition of its parent body. Following aqueous alteration, and whilst still in the parent body regolith, the meteorite was heated to ~400–600 °C by impacts or solar radiation. Heating led to the amorphisation and dehydroxylation of serpentine, replacement of tochilinite by magnetite, loss of sulphur from the matrix, and modification to the structure of organic matter that includes organic nanoglobules. Significant differences between samples in oxygen isotope compositions, and water/hydroxyl contents, suggests that the meteorite contains lithologies that have undergone different intensities of heating. EET 96029 may be more representative of the true nature of parent body regoliths than many other CM meteorites, and as such can help interpret results from the forthcoming missions to study and return samples from C-complex asteroids

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Follow up of GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart by Australian-led observing programmes

The discovery of the first electromagnetic counterpart to a gravitational wave signal has generated follow-up observations by over 50 facilities world-wide, ushering in the new era of multi-messenger astronomy. In this paper, we present follow-up observations of the gravitational wave event GW170817 and its electromagnetic counterpart SSS17a/DLT17ck (IAU label AT2017gfo) by 14 Australian telescopes and partner observatories as part of Australian-based and Australian-led research programs. We report early- to late-time multi-wavelength observations, including optical imaging and spectroscopy, mid-infrared imaging, radio imaging, and searches for fast radio bursts. Our optical spectra reveal that the transient source emission cooled from approximately 6 400 K to 2 100 K over a 7-d period and produced no significant optical emission lines. The spectral profiles, cooling rate, and photometric light curves are consistent with the expected outburst and subsequent processes of a binary neutron star merger. Star formation in the host galaxy probably ceased at least a Gyr ago, although there is evidence for a galaxy merger. Binary pulsars with short (100 Myr) decay times are therefore unlikely progenitors, but pulsars like PSR B1534+12 with its 2.7 Gyr coalescence time could produce such a merger. The displacement (~2.2 kpc) of the binary star system from the centre of the main galaxy is not unusual for stars in the host galaxy or stars originating in the merging galaxy, and therefore any constraints on the kick velocity imparted to the progenitor are poor