Poor sleep quality may trigger cognitive deficits after recovery from COVID-19

ObjectiveIn the present study, we aimed to assess the cognition of post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) participants in relation to their subjective sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI) and to analyse possible moderators of this effect, such as quality of life (European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions, EQ-5D), fatigue (Chadler Fatigue Questionnaire, CFQ), cognitive reserve (Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire, CRC), and subjective cognitive complaints (Memory Failures of Everyday Questionnaire, MFE-30).MethodsWe included 373 individuals with PCC and 126 healthy controls (HCs) from the NAUTILUS Project (NCT05307549 and NCT05307575) who were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and various questionnaires.ResultsWe found that PCC participants with poor sleep quality had a 4.3% greater risk of immediate verbal memory deficits than those with good sleep quality, as indicated by the greater odds ratio (OR) of 1.043 and confidence interval (CI) of 1.023–1.063. Additionally, their risk of immediate verbal memory disorders was multiplied by 2.4 when their EQ-5D score was low (OR 0.33; CI 0.145–0.748), and they had a lower risk of delayed visual memory deficits with a greater CRC (OR 0.963; CI 0.929–0.999). With respect to processing speed, PCC participants with poor sleep quality had a 6.7% greater risk of deficits as the MFE increased (OR 1.059; CI 1.024–1.096), and the risk of slowed processing speed tripled with a lower EQ-5D (OR 0.021; CI 0.003–0.141).ConclusionThese results indicate that poor subjective sleep quality is a potential trigger for cognitive deficits. Therapeutic strategies to maximize sleep quality could include reducing sleep disturbances and perhaps cognitive impairment in PCC individuals

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Risk factors for reading disability in families with rolandic epilepsy

OBJECTIVE: The high prevalence and impact of neurodevelopmental comorbidities in childhood epilepsy are now well known, as are the increased risks and familial aggregation of reading disability (RD) and speech sound disorder (SSD) in rolandic epilepsy (RE). The risk factors for RD in the general population include male sex, SSD and ADHD but it is not known if these are the same in RE or whether there is a contributory role of seizure and treatment related variables. METHODS: An observational study of 108 RE probands (age range 3.6–22 years) and their 159 siblings (age range 1–29 years; 83 with EEG data) singly ascertained in the US or UK through an affected RE proband. We used a nested case-control design, multiple logistic regression and generalized estimating equations to test the hypothesis of association between RD and seizure variables or antiepileptic drug treatment in RE; we also assessed an association between EEG focal sharp waves and RD in siblings. RESULTS: RD was reported in 42% of probands and 22% of siblings. Among probands, RD was strongly associated with a history of SSD (OR 9.64, 95% CI: 2.45–37.21), ADHD symptoms (OR 10.31, 95% CI: 2.15–49.44), and male sex (OR 3.62, 95% CI: 1.11–11.75), but not with seizure or treatment variables. Among siblings, RD was independently associated only with SSD (OR 4.30, 95%CI: 1.42–13.0) and not with the presence of interictal EEG focal sharp waves. SIGNIFICANCE: The principal risk factors for RD in RE are SSD, ADHD and male sex, the same risk factors as for RD without epilepsy. Seizure or treatment variables do not appear to be important risk factors for RD in RE probands, and there was no evidence to support interictal EEG focal sharp waves as a risk factor for RD in siblings. Future studies should focus on the precise neuropsychological characterisation of RD in RE families, and on the effectiveness of standard oral-language and reading interventions

Constraints on the spin-parity and anomalous HVV couplings of the Higgs boson in proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV

The study of the spin-parity and tensor structure of the interactions of the recently discovered Higgs boson is performed using the $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} \mathrm{Z}$, $\mathrm{Z}\gamma^*$, $\gamma^*\gamma^* \rightarrow 4\ell$, $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \mathrm{W} \mathrm{W} \rightarrow \ell\nu\ell\nu$, and $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ decay modes. The full dataset recorded by the CMS experiment during the LHC Run 1 is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to $5.1~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and up to $19.7~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ at 8 TeV. A wide range of spin-two models is excluded at a 99% confidence level or higher, or at a 99.87% confidence level for the minimal gravity-like couplings, regardless of whether assumptions are made on the production mechanism. Any mixed-parity spin-one state is excluded in the $\mathrm{ZZ}$ and $\mathrm{WW }$ modes at a greater than 99.999% confidence level. Under the hypothesis that the resonance is a spin-zero boson, the tensor structure of the interactions of the Higgs boson with two vector bosons $\mathrm{Z} \mathrm{Z}$, $\mathrm{Z}\gamma$, $\gamma\gamma$, and $\mathrm{W} \mathrm{W}$ is investigated and limits on eleven anomalous contributions are set. Tighter constraints on anomalous $\mathrm{HVV}$ interactions are obtained by combining the $\mathrm{HZZ}$ and $\mathrm{HWW}$ measurements. All observations are consistent with the expectations for the standard model Higgs boson with the quantum numbers $J^{\mathrm{PC}}=0^{++}$

Constraints on the spin-parity and anomalous HVV couplings of the Higgs boson in proton collisions at 7 and 8 TeV

The study of the spin-parity and tensor structure of the interactions of the recently discovered Higgs boson is performed using the $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \mathrm{Z} \mathrm{Z}$, $\mathrm{Z}\gamma^*$, $\gamma^*\gamma^* \rightarrow 4\ell$, $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \mathrm{W} \mathrm{W} \rightarrow \ell\nu\ell\nu$, and $\mathrm{H} \rightarrow \gamma\gamma$ decay modes. The full dataset recorded by the CMS experiment during the LHC Run 1 is used, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to $5.1~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV and up to $19.7~\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ at 8 TeV. A wide range of spin-two models is excluded at a 99% confidence level or higher, or at a 99.87% confidence level for the minimal gravity-like couplings, regardless of whether assumptions are made on the production mechanism. Any mixed-parity spin-one state is excluded in the $\mathrm{ZZ}$ and $\mathrm{WW }$ modes at a greater than 99.999% confidence level. Under the hypothesis that the resonance is a spin-zero boson, the tensor structure of the interactions of the Higgs boson with two vector bosons $\mathrm{Z} \mathrm{Z}$, $\mathrm{Z}\gamma$, $\gamma\gamma$, and $\mathrm{W} \mathrm{W}$ is investigated and limits on eleven anomalous contributions are set. Tighter constraints on anomalous $\mathrm{HVV}$ interactions are obtained by combining the $\mathrm{HZZ}$ and $\mathrm{HWW}$ measurements. All observations are consistent with the expectations for the standard model Higgs boson with the quantum numbers $J^{\mathrm{PC}}=0^{++}$