Insufficient Sleep is Associated With Increasing Trends in Adolescent Suicidal Behaviors.

PURPOSE: Youth suicide has been increasing and became a public health concern worldwide. Identifying insufficient sleep as the potential risk factor is critical to reducing suicide risk and increasing trends. This study aimed to determine whether insufficient sleep is associated with increasing trends in suicidal behaviors and disparities by sex, age, and race/ethnicity among school adolescents. METHODS: The present study used biennial data from the US nationally representative Youth Risk Behavior Survey from 2007 to 2019. Joinpoint regression models were used to estimate biennial percent changes (BPCs) and average BPCs (ABPCs) of suicidal behaviors by sleep duration. Logistic regression models were used to examine the association between insufficient sleep and suicidal behaviors. RESULTS: Of 73,356 adolescent students included (mean [standard deviation] age, 16.11 [1.23] years), 50.03% were female. Suicidal ideation and suicide plan among insufficient sleep group increased from 2007 to 2019 (BPC = 2.88% [95% confidence interval {CI}: 1.65%, 4.13%]; BPC = 3.42% [95% CI: 2.09%, 4.77%]), but were nonsignificant among sufficient sleep group. Trends in suicidal ideation (ABPC = 3.03% [95% CI: 1.35%, 4.73%]) and suicide plan (ABPC = 4.03% [95% CI: 2.47%, 5.62%]) among female adolescents with insufficient sleep increased, but nonsignificant among male adolescents with insufficient sleep. Suicidal ideation (ABPC = 1.73% [95% CI: 0.51%, 2.97%]) and suicide plan (ABPC = 2.31% [95% CI: 0.70%, 3.95%]) increased among younger adolescents only with insufficient sleep, whereas suicide trends by sleep duration were similar among older adolescents. Suicide plan among insufficient sleep group increased across the four racial groups, with BPC highest for the White (BPC = 3.48% [95% CI: 1.31%, 5.69%]), and lowest for the Hispanic/Latino (BPC = 1.18% [95% CI: 0.15%, 2.23%]), but were nonsignificant among sufficient sleep group except for the White (BPC = 2.83% [95% CI: 0.62%, 5.09%]). DISCUSSION: Insufficient sleep was disproportionately associated with increasing trends in suicidal behaviors among female, younger, and non-White adolescent students. Ensuring sufficient sleep can potentially reduce suicide among school adolescents.

The impact of short-term exposure to meteorological factors on the risk of death from hypertension and its major complications: a time series analysis based on Hefei, China.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to reveal the short-term impact of meteorological factors on the mortality risk in hypertensive patients, providing a scientific foundation for formulating pertinent prevention and control policies. METHODS: In this research, meteorological factor data and daily death data of hypertensive patients in Hefei City from 2015 to 2018 were integrated. Time series analysis was performed using distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM) and generalized additive model (GAM). Furthermore, we conducted stratified analysis based on gender and age. Relative risk (RR) combined with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was used to represent the mortality risk of single day and cumulative day in hypertensive patients. RESULTS: Single-day lag results indicated that high daily mean temperature (T mean) (75th percentile, 24.9 °C) and low diurnal temperature range (DTR) (25th percentile, 4.20 °C) levels were identified as risk factors for death in hypertensive patients (maximum effective RR values were 1.144 and 1.122, respectively). Extremely high levels of relative humidity (RH) (95th percentile, 94.29%) reduced the risk of death (RR value was 0.893). The stratified results showed that the elderly and female populations are more susceptible to low DTR levels, whereas extremely high levels of RH have a more significant protective effect on both populations. CONCLUSION: Overall, we found that exposure to low DTR and high T mean environments increases the risk of death for hypertensive patients, while exposure to extremely high RH environments significantly reduces the risk of death for hypertensive patients. These findings contribute valuable insights for shaping targeted prevention and control strategies.

Topological Design of Unprecedented Metal-Organic Frameworks Featuring Multiple Anion Functionalities and Hierarchical Porosity for Benchmark Acetylene Separation.

Separation of acetylene (C2 H2 ) from carbon dioxide (CO2 ) or ethylene (C2 H4 ) is industrially important but still challenging so far. Herein, we developed two novel robust metal organic frameworks AlFSIX-Cu-TPBDA (ZNU-8) with znv topology and SIFSIX-Cu-TPBDA (ZNU-9) with wly topology for efficient capture of C2 H2 from CO2 and C2 H4 . Both ZNU-8 and ZNU-9 feature multiple anion functionalities and hierarchical porosity. Notably, ZNU-9 with more anionic binding sites and three distinct cages displays both an extremely large C2 H2 capacity (7.94 mmol/g) and a high C2 H2 /CO2 (10.3) or C2 H2 /C2 H4 (11.6) selectivity. The calculated capacity of C2 H2 per anion (4.94 mol/mol at 1 bar) is the highest among all the anion pillared metal organic frameworks. Theoretical calculation indicated that the strong cooperative hydrogen bonds exist between acetylene and the pillared SiF6 2- anions in the confined cavity, which is further confirmed by in situ IR spectra. The practical separation performance was explicitly demonstrated by dynamic breakthrough experiments with equimolar C2 H2 /CO2 mixtures and 1/99 C2 H2 /C2 H4 mixtures under various conditions with excellent recyclability and benchmark productivity of pure C2 H2 (5.13 mmol/g) or C2 H4 (48.57 mmol/g).

The impacts of intra-individual daily sleep variability on daytime functioning and sleep architecture in healthy young adults: An experimental study.

Sleep variability is commonly seen in the young populations. This study aimed to examine the impacts of experimentally induced sleep variability on sleepiness, mood, cognitive performance and sleep architectures among young adults. Thirty-six healthy individuals (aged 18-22 years) were randomly assigned to either variable sleep schedule (n = 20) or control (n = 16) groups. The protocol involved 1 week of regular sleep (time in bed = 7.5 hr) in the home setting, followed by one adaptation night (time in bed = 7.5 hr), one baseline night (time in bed = 7.5 hr), and 6 nights of sleep manipulation in the laboratory monitored by polysomnography (three cycles of variable sleep schedule by changing daily time in bed alternating between 6 hr and 9 hr for variable sleep schedule group versus fixed sleep schedule with daily time in bed for 7.5 hr for control group). Sleepiness, mood, sustained attention, processing speed, response inhibition and working memory were measured every morning and evening. The variable sleep schedule group reported a higher level of sleepiness, especially in the mornings, and increased negative mood in the evenings. There were no significant differences in positive mood, cognitive performance and sleep macro- and micro-structures. Our results showed the negative effects of sleep variability on daytime functioning especially sleepiness and negative mood, suggesting the need to address variable sleep schedules through sleep intervention.

Insights into the thermodynamic-kinetic synergistic separation of propyne/propylene in anion pillared cage MOFs with entropy-enthalpy balanced adsorption sites.

Propyne/propylene (C3H4/C3H6) separation is an important industrial process yet challenged by the trade-off of selectivity and capacity due to the molecular similarity. Herein, record C3H4/C3H6 separation performance is achieved by fine tuning the pore structure in anion pillared MOFs. SIFSIX-Cu-TPA (ZNU-2-Si) displays a benchmark C3H4 capacity (106/188 cm3 g-1 at 0.01/1 bar and 298 K), excellent C3H4/C3H6 IAST selectivity (14.6-19.3) and kinetic selectivity, and record high C3H4/C3H6 (10/90) separation potential (36.2 mol kg-1). The practical C3H4/C3H6 separation performance is fully demonstrated by breakthroughs under various conditions. 37.8 and 52.9 mol kg-1 of polymer grade C3H6 can be produced from 10/90 and 1/99 C3H4/C3H6 mixtures. 4.7 mol kg-1 of >99% purity C3H4 can be recovered by a stepped desorption process. Based on the in situ single crystal analysis and DFT calculation, an unprecedented entropy-enthalpy balanced adsorption pathway is discovered. MD simulation further confirmed the thermodynamic-kinetic synergistic separation of C3H4/C3H6 in ZNU-2-Si.

The effects of maternal prenatal depression on child mental health: The moderating role of maternal childhood trauma.

BACKGROUND: There is a large body of evidence suggesting that maternal prenatal depression significantly predicts mental health problems in children. However, little is known about the role of maternal childhood trauma within this effect. METHODS: The current study utilized a sample of 187 mother-child dyads (51.3 % boys) from the Shanghai Sleep Birth Cohort (SSBC), a six-year prospective longitudinal study. The effects of maternal depression at late pregnancy (Center for Epidemiological Survey-Depression Scale) on the child mental health at six years old (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) were analyzed, with different types of maternal childhood trauma (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) being examined as moderators. RESULTS: The results showed that maternal prenatal depression positively predicted child mental health problems (ß = 0.13, p < .05) and there was a significant moderating effect of maternal childhood emotional abuse (ß = -0.05, p < .05); that is, in mothers with high childhood emotional abuse, child mental health problems remained high regardless of maternal prenatal depression (ß = -0.02, p = .78), while in mothers with low childhood emotional abuse, maternal prenatal depression significantly predicted child behavioral and emotional problems (ß = 0.20, p < .05). LIMITATIONS: Relatively high socio-economic status samples, retrospective reports of maternal childhood trauma and the single reporter were the limitations of this study. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provided new insights into the impact of maternal prenatal depression on child mental health, highlighting the importance of intervention efforts targeting mothers with prenatal depression and childhood trauma history.

Weight spectrum and executive function in adolescents: the moderating role of negative emotions.

BACKGROUND: While recent works suggested that overweight/obesity may impair executive function (EF), the overweight/obesity-EF relationship has not been well studied in adolescents. Furthermore, no research has investigated adolescent EF impairments across the weight spectrum (e.g., underweight or thinness, normal, overweight/obesity), especially those with underweight condition, with the moderating effect of negative emotions in the weight-EF association being limitedly investigated. We aimed to determine whether overall and abdominal weight spectrum associated with EF impairments and to identity whether negative emotions moderate the weight-EF link in adolescents. METHODS: We applied a subsample of the SCHEDULE-A project. Adolescents (11-18 years) were recruited using a multi-stage cluster random sampling approach. We measured the overall and abdominal weight spectrum by body mass index z-score and waist-to-height ratio, respectively. We used the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) to evaluate adolescent EF in nature setting, and utilized the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) to assess three types of negative emotional status (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). RESULTS: Of the 1935 adolescents, 963 (49.8%) were male. We observed that abdominal, not overall, overweight was associated with the Global Executive Composite (GEC) impairment (OR = 1.59, 95% CI 1.07-2.35), particularly for inhibit, emotion control, shift, working memory, and monitor domains. Furthermore, depression moderated the abdominal overweight-GEC association (P = 0.032 for interaction term), especially for emotional control, working memory, and initiate dimensions. Moreover, we also found abdominal thinness was associated with the Metacognition Index problem (OR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.04-1.72), particularly for plan and monitor areas. CONCLUSIONS: Both abdominal overweight and thinness were associated with adolescent EF, and depression would be a modifiable target to improve EF in adolescents with abdominal overweight. Future longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the causal relationship between abdominal weight spectrum and EF, as well as the underlying mechanisms among adolescents suffering from depression.

Comprehensive Pore Tuning in an Ultrastable Fluorinated Anion Cross-Linked Cage-Like MOF for Simultaneous Benchmark Propyne Recovery and Propylene Purification.

Propyne/propylene (C3 H4 /C3 H6 ) separation is an important but challenging industrial process to produce polymer-grade C3 H6 and recover high-purity C3 H4 . Herein, we report an ultrastable TiF6 2- anion cross-linked metal-organic framework (ZNU-2) with precisely controlled pore size, shape and functionality for benchmark C3 H4 storage (3.9/7.7 mmol g-1 at 0.01/1.0 bar and 298 K) and record high C3 H4 /C3 H6 (10/90) separation potential (31.0 mol kg-1 ). The remarkable C3 H4 /C3 H6 (1/99, 10/90, 50/50) separation performance was fully demonstrated by simulated and experimental breakthroughs under various conditions with excellent recyclability and high productivity (42 mol kg-1 ) of polymer-grade C3 H6 from a 1/99 C3 H4 /C3 H6 mixture. A modelling study revealed that the symmetrical spatial distribution of six TiF6 2- on the icosahedral cage surface provides two distinct binding sites for C3 H4 adsorption: one serves as a tailored single C3 H4 molecule trap and the other boosts C3 H4 accommodation by cooperative host-guest and guest-guest interactions.

Circadian Rhythm Analysis Using Wearable Device Data: Novel Penalized Machine Learning Approach.

BACKGROUND: Wearable devices have been widely used in clinical studies to study daily activity patterns, but the analysis remains a major obstacle for researchers. OBJECTIVE: This study proposes a novel method to characterize sleep-activity rhythms using actigraphy and further use it to describe early childhood daily rhythm formation and examine its association with physical development. METHODS: We developed a machine learning-based Penalized Multiband Learning (PML) algorithm to sequentially infer dominant periodicities based on the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm and further characterize daily rhythms. We implemented and applied the algorithm to Actiwatch data collected from a cohort of 262 healthy infants at ages 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, with 159, 101, 111, and 141 participants at each time point, respectively. Autocorrelation analysis and Fisher test in harmonic analysis with Bonferroni correction were applied for comparison with the PML. The association between activity rhythm features and early childhood motor development, assessed using the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition (PDMS-2), was studied through linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The PML results showed that 1-day periodicity was most dominant at 6 and 12 months, whereas one-day, one-third-day, and half-day periodicities were most dominant at 18 and 24 months. These periodicities were all significant in the Fisher test, with one-fourth-day periodicity also significant at 12 months. Autocorrelation effectively detected 1-day periodicity but not the other periodicities. At 6 months, PDMS-2 was associated with the assessment seasons. At 12 months, PDMS-2 was associated with the assessment seasons and FFT signals at one-third-day periodicity (P<.001) and half-day periodicity (P=.04), respectively. In particular, the subcategories of stationary, locomotion, and gross motor were associated with the FFT signals at one-third-day periodicity (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed PML algorithm can effectively conduct circadian rhythm analysis using time-series wearable device data. The application of the method effectively characterized sleep-wake rhythm development and identified the association between daily rhythm formation and motor development during early childhood.

Associations of circadian factors with insomnia symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems among school-age children.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations of circadian characteristics (ie, chronotype and social jetlag) with insomnia symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems among school-age children. METHODS: A total of 620 primary school children (medianage = 10.06, standard deviation = 1.16, 58.7% boys) were recruited and assessed by a set of parent-report questionnaires, including Children's Sleep Habit Questionnaire for measuring sleep-wake patterns and insomnia symptoms (bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and night waking), Children's Chronotype Questionnaire for assessing the child's chronotype preference, and Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for assessing emotional and behavioral problems. Linear regression models were applied to examine the associations of chronotype and social jetlag with insomnia symptoms and mental health outcomes, in which age, sex, family income, and average sleep duration were entered as covariates. RESULTS: Evening chronotype was significantly associated with bedtime resistance and sleep onset delay, while social jetlag was not related to insomnia symptoms. Evening chronotype was also significantly associated with externalizing symptoms after controlling for potential confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Evening chronotype, but not social jetlag, was the risk factor for insomnia symptoms, and evening chronotype was further associated with increased behavioral problems in school-age children. Our findings underscored the roles of circadian factors in relation to sleep and mental health problems in this young population. CITATION: Sun W, Kwok NTT, Chan NY, et al. Associations of circadian factors with insomnia symptoms and emotional and behavioral problems among school-age children. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(10):2107-2114.

Gram-Scale Synthesis of an Ultrastable Microporous Metal-Organic Framework for Efficient Adsorptive Separation of C2H2/CO2 and C2H2/CH4.

A highly water and thermally stable metal-organic framework (MOF) Zn2(Pydc)(Ata)2 (1, H2Pydc = 3,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid; HAta = 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole) was synthesized on a large scale using inexpensive commercially available ligands for efficient separation of C2H2 from CH4 and CO2. Compound 1 could take up 47.2 mL/g of C2H2 under ambient conditions but only 33.0 mL/g of CO2 and 19.1 mL/g of CH4. The calculated ideal absorbed solution theory (IAST) selectivities for equimolar C2H2/CO2 and C2H2/CH4 were 5.1 and 21.5, respectively, comparable to those many popular MOFs. The Qst values for C2H2, CO2, and CH4 at a near-zero loading in 1 were 43.1, 32.1, and 22.5 kJ mol-1, respectively. The practical separation performance for C2H2/CO2 mixtures was further confirmed by column breakthrough experiments.

Ligand Bent-Angle Engineering for Tuning Topological Structures and Acetylene Purification Performances of Copper-Diisophthalate Frameworks.

To enrich structural chemistry and widen the application prospects of MOFs (metal-organic frameworks), the development of a synthetic strategy to realize structural and functional modulation is highly demanded. By implementation of the linker bent-angle engineering strategy, three banana-like diisophthalate linkers with distinct bent angles were designed and synthesized. The inclusion of the targeted linkers into MOFs through solvothermal assembly with CuCl2·2H2O under identical conditions yielded three crystalline solids featuring diversified topological structures as revealed by X-ray crystallographic studies. Furthermore, functional explorations indicated that they are promising solid adsorbents for acetylene (C2H2) purification application with structurally dependent separation potentials. The results reported in this study illustrated a rare example of modulating the topological structures and separation efficiencies of MOFs by engineering the ligand bent angles.

Interpenetration Symmetry Control Within Ultramicroporous Robust Boron Cluster Hybrid MOFs for Benchmark Purification of Acetylene from Carbon Dioxide.

The separation of C2 H2 /CO2 is an important process in industry but challenged by the trade-off of capacity and selectivity owning to their similar physical properties and identical kinetic molecular size. We report the first example of symmetrically interpenetrated dodecaborate pillared MOF, ZNU-1, for benchmark selective separation of C2 H2 from CO2 with a high C2 H2 capacity of 76.3 cm3 g-1 and record C2 H2 /CO2 selectivity of 56.6 (298 K, 1 bar) among all the robust porous materials without open metal sites. Single crystal structure analysis and modeling indicated that the interpenetration shifting from asymmetric to symmetric mode provided optimal pore chemistry with ideal synergistic "2+2" dihydrogen bonding sites for tight C2 H2 trapping. The exceptional separation performance was further evidenced by simulated and experimental breakthroughs with excellent recyclability and high productivity (2.4 mol kg-1 ) of 99.5 % purity C2 H2 during stepped desorption process.

Engineering Yarrowia lipolytica for Production of Fatty Alcohols with YaliBrick Vectors.

Biosynthesis of fatty alcohol holds great promise as substitute to replace petroleum-derived fatty alcohols to mitigate environmental concerns and reduce earth's carbon footprint. In this protocol, we detail the procedures of how to use the YaliBrick gene assembly platform to achieve modular assembly of fatty alcohol pathway in Y. lipolytica. To limit fatty alcohol oxidation, we will also describe the hydroxyurea-based protocols for the efficient disruption of POX1 gene, encoding the fatty acyl coenzyme A in Y. lipolytica, with the homologous arm about 500 bp. We envision that this chapter would improve our ability to engineer microbial cell factories for oleochemical and fatty alcohol production in oleaginous yeast species.

Combined effects of weight change trajectories and eating behaviors on childhood adiposity status: A birth cohort study.

Previous studies have suggested that infant rapid weight change can be associated with an increased weight later in life. However, the weight change trajectory in early life over time and which childhood lifestyle behaviors may modify the risk of rapid weight change have not been characterized. Using our ongoing birth cohort study, we have addressed these issues. Nine follow-up time points (birth, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months) were used to calculate the change between two adjacent weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ-change), and then WAZ-change trajectories were defined via group-based trajectory modeling. The solitary, independent and combined effects of WAZ-change trajectories and each lifestyle factor (eating behaviors, physical activity, media exposure time and total sleep duration) on childhood adiposity measures at age 4 years were determined using multivariate regression analysis. Overall, 84 (38%) children had a steady growth trajectory from birth to 4 years, while the other 137 (62%) children had an early infancy rapid growth trajectory, particularly in the first three months. Compared to children with steady growth, children with early infancy rapid growth had a significantly higher body mass index, waist circumference, and subcutaneous fat. Moreover, weight change trajectory and three eating behaviors (i.e. food responsiveness, satiety responsiveness and food fussiness), not only had independent effects, but also combined (synergistic) effects on the majority of adiposity measures. Our results extend the current literature and provide a potentially valuable model to aid clinicians and health professionals in designing early-life interventions targeting specific populations, specific ages and specific lifestyle behaviors to prevent childhood overweight/obesity.

Cohort Profile: The Shanghai Sleep Birth Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances in women occur frequently throughout pregnancy. Previous studies have demonstrated that the increasing incidence of physiological and psychological illness is concurrent with increasing sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality in adults and children. OBJECTIVES: The Shanghai Sleep Birth Cohort Study (SSBCS) was established to examine the effect of sleep disturbances during the third trimester on emotional regulation of mothers; to assess the effect of maternal sleep during pregnancy on the growth and development of children; and to explore the influence of children's sleep characteristics on physical and social-emotional development. POPULATION: The study was conducted in the Renji Hospital in Pudong New District, Shanghai from May 2012 to July 2013. Women and their newborns who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in this study were recruited to the SSBCS. METHODS: The follow-up visits for children were conducted at the age of 42 days, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months, and 3, 4, and 6 years. Data on demographic factors, physical examination, sleep assessment, developmental and psychiatric assessment, diet records, and biological samples were collected throughout the study. PRELIMINARY RESULTS: A total of 277 pregnant women were recruited to the study; the response rate was 64.3%. 37.9% of the pregnant women had poor sleep quality and 12.0% suffered from depression. Infant sleep patterns changed during the first year of life, but most sleep characteristics showed little variation from 6 to 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: The SSBCS is an on-going prospective cohort study with follow-up to 6 years. The detailed data on demographic factors, sleep assessment, physical examinations, neurodevelopmental and psychiatric assessment, diet records, and biological samples make this research platform an important resource for examining the potential effects of sleep characteristics on both maternal and child health.

Effect of maternal sleep in late pregnancy on leptin and lipid levels in umbilical cord blood.

OBJECTIVES: To study the impact of maternal sleep in late pregnancy on birth weight (BW) and leptin and lipid levels in umbilical cord blood. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 277 healthy and singleton pregnancy women were recruited for participation in the Shanghai Sleep Birth Cohort Study (SSBC) during their 36-38 weeks of pregnancy, from May 2012 to July 2013. Maternal night sleep time (NST), sleep efficiency (SE), sleep onset latency (SOL) and the percentage of wake after sleep onset (WASO) in NST and midpoint of sleep (MSF) were measured by actigraphy for seven consecutive days. The leptin and lipid levels were determined in cord blood samples collected from the umbilical vein immediately after delivery. Birth information (birth weight, gender, delivery type, etc.) was extracted from medical records. A multivariable linear regression model was applied to examine the effect of maternal sleep in late pregnancy on newborn leptin and lipid levels in umbilical cord blood. RESULTS: A total of 177 women and their infants were included in the analysis. Maternal mean NST was 7.03 ± 1.10 h in late pregnancy, and 48% had a shorter sleep time (NST < 7 h). The average maternal SE was 72.54% ± 9.66%. The mean percentage WASO/NST was 21.62% ± 9.98%; the average MSF was about 3:34 (0:53); and the SOL was 46.78 ± 36.00 min. After adjustment for confounders, both maternal NST and SE were found to be significantly associated with triglyceride levels (ß = -0.219, p = 0.006; ß = -0.224, p = 0.006) in umbilical cord blood; and maternal NST was also observed to have positive association with newborn leptin levels (ß = 0.146, p = 0.047). However, we did not find significant association between other maternal sleep parameters in late pregnancy and leptin and lipid levels and birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality during late pregnancy were associated with newborn leptin and lipid levels, and efforts on improving maternal sleep during late pregnancy should be advocated for children's health.

Early language and communication development in Chinese children: Adaption and validation of a parent report instrument.

PURPOSE: To fulfil the needs of assessment tools in the Chinese population, we adapted the LENA Developmental Snapshot, a parent survey that measures early language and communication development in English-speaking children. We reported the psychometric properties of the adapted questionnaire and evaluated the metric and functional equivalence between the adapted and the original instruments. METHOD: The Snapshot was translated into Chinese and reviewed by an expert panel. English-specific items (e.g. past tense, plural) were mapped onto functionally similar Mandarin vocabulary and structures. The questionnaire was administered to 1300 families with children ages 2-48 months. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development was administered to a subsample. RESULT: Scores on the adapted questionnaire showed age-related increases in the 7-36 month age range and correlated with scores on the Chinese Bayley. The questionnaire showed high internal consistency and split-half reliability. Comparison with the US norm revealed slightly lower performance in the current sample. Adaptations of English-specific items resulted in functionally equivalent targets. CONCLUSION: Despite differences in linguistic roots, the Chinese adaption of the LENA Snapshot captured developmental changes in children's language and communication abilities. Additional norming and validation efforts are needed in a more representative sample.

Effects of insomnia symptoms and objective short sleep duration on memory performance in youths.

Sleep quantity and quality are both important for optimal development and functioning during youth. Yet few studies have examined the effects of insomnia symptoms and objective short sleep duration on memory performance among adolescents and young adults. One-hundred and ninety participants (female: 61.6%) aged from 12 to 24 years completed this study. All participants underwent a clinical interview, a 7-day actigraphic assessment, a battery of self-report questionnaires and cognitive tests to assess working memory and episodic memory. Insomnia symptoms were defined as a score ≥ 9 on the Insomnia Severity Index, and objective short sleep duration was defined as average total sleep time less than 7 hr for those aged 12-17 years, and 6 hr for those aged 18 years and above as assessed by actigraphy. Insomnia symptoms were significantly associated with worse self-perceived memory (p < .05) and poorer performance on the digit span task (p < .01), but not the dual N-back task and verbal learning task. There was no significant difference in any of the memory measures between participants with objective short sleep duration and their counterparts. No interaction effect was found between insomnia and short sleep duration on any of the objective memory outcomes. Insomnia symptoms, but not objective short sleep duration, were associated with poorer subjective memory and objective working memory performance in youths. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms linking insomnia and memory impairments, and to delineate the long-term impacts of insomnia on other aspects of neurocognitive functioning in youth.

The Theophylline Aptamer: 25 Years as an Important Tool in Cellular Engineering Research.

The theophylline aptamer was isolated from an oligonucleotide library in 1994. Since that time, the aptamer has found wide utility, particularly in synthetic biology, cellular engineering, and diagnostic applications. The primary application of the theophylline aptamer is in the construction and characterization of synthetic riboswitches for regulation of gene expression. These riboswitches have been used to control cellular motility, regulate carbon metabolism, construct logic gates, screen for mutant enzymes, and control apoptosis. Other applications of the theophylline aptamer in cellular engineering include regulation of RNA interference and genome editing through CRISPR systems. Here we describe the uses of the theophylline aptamer for cellular engineering over the past 25 years. In so doing, we also highlight important synthetic biology applications to control gene expression in a ligand-dependent manner.