Sleep
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To aid in the identification of patients with moderate-to-severe sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), we developed and validated a simple screening tool applicable to both clinical and community settings. ⋯ These findings suggest that our screening scoring system is a valid tool for the identification and assessment of moderate-to-severe SDB. With knowledge of only 4 easily ascertainable variables, which are routinely checked during daily clinical practice or mass health screening, moderate-to-severe SDB can be easily detected in clinical and public health settings.
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Daily amounts of sleep and wakefulness are accumulated in discrete bouts that exhibit distinct statistical properties. In adult mammals, sleep bout durations follow an exponential distribution whereas wake bout durations follow a power-law distribution. In infant Norway rats, however, wake bouts initially follow an exponential distribution and only transition to a power-law distribution beginning around postnatal day 15 (P15). Here we test the hypothesis that the locus coeruleus (LC), one of several wake-active nuclei in the brainstem, contributes to this developmental transition. ⋯ These results suggest that the fundamental developmental transition in the statistical structure of wake bout durations is effected in part by changes in noradrenergic LC functioning. Considered within the domain of network theory, the hub-like connectivity of the LC may have important implications for the maintenance of network function in the face of random or targeted neural degeneration.