Sleep quality and its relationship with climacteric symptoms and quality of life in women on menopausal transition

Background: Climacteric syndrome, occurring during menopausal transition, plays a key role in the alteration of women's quality of life. Aims: This study investigated the relationship between perimenopausal symptoms, sleep quality, quality of life, and food behavior in women on menopausal transition in western Algeria. Subjects and Methods: The study included 131 perimenopausal women (Mean age = 48 ± 3 years). The climacteric syndrome and quality of life were assessed by the menopause rating scale (MRS) questionnaire. The quality of sleep was evaluated by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and food consumption by the 24h recall method. Results: The mean score of psychological (9.63 ± 2.93) and somatic (10.74 ± 3.43) symptoms were significantly higher (p= 0.000) and the total score of MRS was 24 ± 6, which means that women have an impaired quality of life. A high significance (p= 0.000) was also noted in subscales scores of sleep components; sleep disturbances (1.69± 0.62), subjective sleep quality (1.55± 0.93), and sleep latency (1.40 ± 1.23), compared to other sleep components. Poor sleep quality was explained by a high score of PSQI (8 ± 4). The MRS subscale scores showed a significant correlation with total PSQI score (r =0.600, p=0.01). A positive energy balance was also recorded with a high protein (13% of TEI) and polyunsaturated fatty acids intake (33%) and low lipids (23% of TEI), monounsaturated fatty acids (41%), and animal protein intake (26%). Conclusions: Perimenopause is a difficult period in a woman's life, disrupting her quality of life and sleep quality leading to disturbances in eating behavior and body weight gain

Effect of the supersaturation on the precipitation kinetics of the Guinier-Preston zones in Al-rich Ag alloys

The precipitation kinetics of the GP zones in a supersaturated solid solution depends on the level of its supersaturation which induces a driving force. The magnitude of this driving force increases with the increasing of the undercooling and the increasing of the solute supersaturation. At a given temperature, the increasing of the supersaturation accelerates the precipitation of the GP zones. In an Alxat.%Ag alloy, the transformation kinetics depends on the contribution of the driving force and on that of the thermal activation which is preponderant

Effect of a plastic deformation on the Guinier-Preston zones growth in Al-5at%Ag alloy

The formation of the Guinier-Preston zones in aluminium alloys is closely linked with the excess vacancies. A plastic deformation exerts an influence on the Guinier-Preston zones precipitation. As well as in the non deformed alloy and in the deformed alloy, the growth kinetics obeys to the JMAK law of the growth controlled by the solute atoms diffusion. However, during the GP zones growth, two stages are observed. During the first one, the plastic deformation slows down the Guinier-Preston zones formation and during the second stage, the plastic deformation accelerates their formation. The plastic deformation promotes the formation of the metastable γ’ phase