Sleep quality, sleep patterns and consumption of energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages among Peruvian college students

Objectives: To evaluate sleep quality in relation to lifestyle characteristics including consumption of energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages among Peruvian college students. Methods: A total of 2458 college students were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire that collected information about a variety of behaviors including consumption of energy drinks, caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess sleep quality. Logistic regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for poor sleep quality in relation to lifestyle characteristics. Results: A total of 965 males and 1493 female students were enrolled in the study. 52.0% of males and 58.4% of females experienced poor sleep quality (p = 0.002). Females (OR = 1.28;95% CI 1.08-1.51) and those who reported consuming ≥3 stimulant beverages per week (OR = 1.88;95% CI 1.42-2.50) had higher odds of poor sleep quality. Students who consumed 1-19 alcoholic beverages monthly (OR = 1.90;95% CI 1.46-2.49) had a higher odds of long sleep latency. Consumption of ≥3 stimulant beverages per week was associated with daytime dysfunction due to sleep loss (OR = 1.45;95% CI 1.10-1.90), short sleep duration (OR = 1.49;95% CI 1.14-1.94), and use of sleep medication (OR = 2.10;95% CI 1.35-3.28). Conclusions: Consumption of energy drinks, other caffeinated beverages and alcoholic beverages are risk factors of poor sleep quality. Increased awareness of these associations should promote interventions to improve students’ lifestyle habits, including consumption of alcoholic and caffeinated beverages, and overall health.

Features of the motion of gel particles in a three-phase bubble column under foaming and non-foaming conditions

Features of the motion of gel particles in a three-phase bubble column with non-foaming and foaming gas–liquid systems,determined by using experiments of radioactive particle tracking(RPT),have been compared.The tracer used is a gel particle which resembles typical immobilized biocatalyst.The tracer trajectory is analyzed to extract relevant information for design purposes.The solid velocity field,turbulence parameters,dispersion coefficients,mixing times and flow transitions are determined and compared.The presence of foam significantly affects many quantified parameters,especially within the heterogeneous flow regime.The hydrodynamic stresses are reduced in the presence of foam,especially close to the disengagement.The dispersion coefficients also decrease,and the solid mixing time is only slightly affected by the presence of foam.Gas holdup,inferred both from RPT experiments and from gamma ray scanning,is higher for foaming systems and leads to a shift in the transition gas velocity towards higher values.

Distal nucleotides affect the rate of stop codon read-through

Background:A key step in gene expression is the recognition of the stop codon to terminate translation at the correct position.However,it has been observed that ribosomes can misinterpret the stop codon and continue the translation in the 3′UTR region.This phenomenon is called stop codon read-through(SCR).It has been suggested that these events would occur on a programmed basis,but the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood.Methods:Here,we present a strategy for the comprehensive identification of SCR events in the Drosophila melanogaster transcriptome by evaluating the ribosomal density profiles.The associated ribosomal leak rate was estimated for every event identified.A statistical characterization of the frequency of nucleotide use in the proximal region to the stop codon in the sequences associated to SCR events was performed.Results:The results show that the nucleotide usage pattern in transcripts with the UGA codon is different from the pattern for those transcripts ending in the UAA codon,suggesting the existence of at least two mechanisms that could alter the translational termination process.Furthermore,a linear regression models for each of the three stop codons was developed,and we show that the models using the nucleotides at informative positions outperforms those models that consider the entire sequence context to the stop codon.Conclusions:We report that distal nucleotides can affect the SCR rate in a stop-codon dependent manner.

Control of Plant Growth and Defense by Photoreceptors:From Mechanisms to Opportunities in Agriculture

Plants detect and respond to the proximity of competitors using light signals perceived by photoreceptor proteins.A low ratio of red to far-red radiation(R:FR ratio)is a key signal of competition that is sensed by the photoreceptor phytochrome B(phyB).Low R:FR ratios increase the synthesis of growth-related hormones,including auxin and gibberellins,promoting stem elongation and other shade-avoidance responses.Other photoreceptors that help plants to optimize their developmental configuration and resource allocation patterns in the canopy include blue light photoreceptors,such as cryptochromes and phototropins,and UV receptors,such as UVR8.All photoreceptors act by directly or indirectly controlling the activity of two major regulatory nodes for growth and development:the COP1/SPA ubiquitin E3 ligase complex and the PIF transcription factors.phyB is also an important modulator of hormonal pathways that regulate plant defense against herbivores and pathogens,including the jasmonic acid signaling pathway,In this Perspective,we discuss recent advances on the studies of the mechanisms that link photoreceptors with growth and defense.Understanding these mechanisms is important to provide a functional platform for breeding programs aimed at improving plant productivity,stress tolerance,and crop health in species of agronomic interest,and to manipulate the light environments in protected agriculture.