Sleep spindles benefit declarative memory consolidation and are considered to be a biological marker for general cognitive abilities. However, the impact of sexual hormones and hormonal oral contraceptives (OCs) on these relationships are less clear. Thus, we here investigated the influence of endogenous progesterone levels of naturally cycling women and women using OCs on nocturnal sleep and overnight memory consolidation. Nineteen healthy women using OCs (MAge = 21.4, SD = 2.1 years) were compared to 43 healthy women with a natural menstrual cycle (follicular phase n = 16, MAge = 21.4, SD = 3.1 years; luteal phase n = 27, MAge = 22.5, SD = 3.6 years). Sleep spindle density and salivary progesterone were measured during an adaptation and an experimental night. A word pair association task preceding the experimental night followed by two recalls (pre-sleep and post-sleep) was performed to test declarative memory performance. We found that memory performance improved overnight in all women. 2,3-Butanedione-2-monoxime Interestingly, women using OCs (characterized by a low endogenous progesterone level but with very potent synthetic progestins) and naturally cycling women during the luteal phase (characterized by a high endogenous progesterone level) had a higher fast sleep spindle density compared to naturally cycling women during the follicular phase (characterized by a low endogenous progesterone level). Furthermore, we observed a positive correlation between endogenous progesterone level and fast spindle density in women during the luteal phase. Results suggest that the use of OCs and the menstrual cycle phase affects sleep spindles and therefore should be considered in further studies investigating sleep spindles and cognitive performance.

This study aimed to investigate the experiences and challenges of New Zealand registered nurses of Chinese ethnicity who have been working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Zealand’s nursing workforce is becoming increasingly multicultural as foreign nurses make up an essential part of the New Zealand health workforce. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the contributions that nurses have made in providing front-line services to the public. However, little has been documented about challenges and experiences of this minority ethnic group-Chinese nurses-who have been working as registered nurses in New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study used an anonymous online questionnaire and a thematic approach to establishing understandings of the experiences of New Zealand registered nurses of Chinese ethnicity in working through the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 51 Chinese nurses completed this survey. A self-explanatory checklist for reporting results of Internet e-surveys (CHERRIES) was ue in New Zealand.

COVID-19 has brought additional challenges and concerns to nurses who are working on the front line of health services. Having knowledge of nurses’ working experiences will help with their job satisfaction and has potential implications for the sustainability of the New Zealand nursing workforce and retention strategies to address nursing workforce shortages which is foreseeable in New Zealand.

Research findings of the association and its pattern between obesity and psychiatric/psychological comorbidities are not consistent across the types of comorbidities or the study subgroups.

We aimed to perform meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies and longitudinal studies analysing obesity as a risk factor for conduct disorder in order to assess the association between child/adolescent overweight/obesity and conduct disorder.

Systematic literature search, study selection and data extraction were performed independently by the two authors. Data were analysed by Comprehensive Meta-analysis software.

Analysis of 13 high-quality cross-sectional studies including 79 027 children and adolescents indicated a significant association between overweight/obesity and conduct disorder among children and adolescents (OR 1.32 [95% CI, 1.18-1.49], I

= 86.68), with no publication bias. Subgroup analyses yielded a significant difference (P < .01) between boys and girls. Analysis of four low- to moderate-qualitye girls seem to be protected from conduct disorder. However, these results are very unreliable, indicating the need of well-designed longitudinal studies to elucidate the pattern of association between these disorders.The single-molecule conductance of a series of BN-acene-like derivatives has been measured by using scanning tunneling break-junction techniques. A strategic design of the target molecules has allowed us to include azaborine units in positions that unambiguously ensure electron transport through both heteroatoms, which is relevant for the development of customized BN-doped nanographenes. We show that the conductance of the anthracene azaborine derivative is comparable to that of the pristine all-carbon anthracene compound. Notably, this heteroatom substitution has also allowed us to perform similar measurements on the corresponding pentacene-like compound, which is found to have a similar conductance, thus evidencing that B-N doping could also be used to stabilize and characterize larger acenes for molecular electronics applications. Our conclusions are supported by state-of-the-art transport calculations.

To describe and discuss clinical strategies for nurses working in partnership with substitute decision-makers for people living with advanced dementia.

By providing person-centred care to patients living with advanced dementia, nurses are positioned to work in partnership with substitute decision-makers who make healthcare decisions related to advanced care. Because the experience of being substitute decision-makers is complex and stressful, nurses need skillsets for working in partnership with substitute decision-makers.

In this discursive paper, an innovative framework for working in partnership with substitute decision-makers is proposed.

Evidence-based findings from a systematic review provided five domain foci for the partnership framework. In each domain, two clinical strategies were discursively proposed. Clinical strategies were hypothesised from research findings and insights from the authors’ nursing experiences. Then, topical literature was searched, and findings were used to support the discursively argued strategies.