Sleep is a complex biological process regulated by networks of neurons and environmental factors. As one falls asleep, neurotransmitters from sleep-wake regulating neurones work in synergy to control the switching of different sleep states throughout the night. As sleep disorders or underlying neuropathology can manifest as irregular switching, analysing these patterns is crucial in sleep medicine and neuroscience. While hypnograms represent the switching of sleep states well, current analyses of hypnograms often rely on oversimplified temporal descriptive statistics (TDS, e.g., total time spent in a sleep state), which miss the opportunity to study the sleep state switching by overlooking the complex structures of hypnograms. In this paper, we propose analysing sleep hypnograms using a seven-state continuous-time Markov model (CTMM). This proposed model leverages the CTMM to depict the time-varying sleep-state transitions, and probes three types of insomnia by distinguishing three types of wake states. Fitting the proposed model to data from 2056 ageing adults in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep study, we profiled sleep architectures in this population and identified the various associations between the sleep state transitions and demographic factors and subjective sleep questions. Ageing, sex, and race all show distinctive patterns of sleep state transitions. Furthermore, we also found that the perception of insomnia and restless sleep are significantly associated with critical transitions in the sleep architecture. By incorporating three wake states in a continuous-time Markov model, our proposed method reveals interesting insights into the relationships between objective hypnogram data and subjective sleep quality assessments.

Date Presented 03/21/24 This study explored the use of a multisensory task to examine object permanence and sensorimotor control in preterm children. Results showed that preterm children reached Stage 6 object permanence later and had challenges with sensorimotor control. Primary Author and Speaker: Virginia W. Chu Additional Authors and Speakers: Jonathon Jacobs Contributing Authors: Stacey Dusing, Robert Perera, Olivier Rolin, James Thomas

Purpose As Google searches have often been found to provide inaccurate information regarding various treatments for orthopedic conditions, it becomes important to analyze search trends to understand what treatments are most popularly considered and the quality of information available. We sought to compare the public interest in popular adjunct/alternative scoliosis treatments to the published literature on these topics and assess any temporal trends in the public interest in these treatments. Methods The study authors compiled the most common adjunct/alternative treatments for scoliosis on PubMed. Chiropractic manipulation, Schroth exercises, physical therapy, pilates, and yoga, along with "scoliosis," were each entered into Google Trends, collected from 2004 to 2021. A linear regression analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was done to determine whether there was a linear relationship between Google Trends' popularity and PubMed publication data. The seasonal popularity of the terms was assessed using locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) regression. Results Google Trends and publication frequency linear regression curves were different for chiropractic manipulation (p < 0.001), Schroth exercises (p < 0.001), physical therapy (p < 0.001), and pilates (p = 0.003). Chiropractic manipulation (p < 0.001), Schroth exercises (p = 0.003), and physical therapy (p < 0.001) had positive trends, and yoga (p < 0.001) had a negative trend. Chiropractic manipulation and yoga were more popular in the summer and winter months. Conclusion Google Trends can provide orthopedic surgeons and other healthcare professionals with valuable information on which treatments are gaining popularity with the public, so physicians may specifically inform themselves prior to patient encounters, leading to more productive shared decision-making.

Introduction Pulsatile tinnitus (PT) occurs in many but not all patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). It is poorly understood why some patients with IIH develop PT, yet others do not. The purpose of this study was to determine if any clinical findings differ between those with and without PT in IIH, potentially shedding light on a pathophysiologic mechanism. Methods Age-matched cohort analysis of patients with documented IIH and presence or absence of PT was performed, collecting data including body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, visual acuity, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) opening pressure, sleep apnea, migraines, and transient visual obscurations, among others. Independent-sample t test and χ 2 test were used to analyze continuous and binary variables, respectively, with multivariate analysis conducted including variables statistically significant on univariate analysis. Results Eighty subjects with IIH met the inclusion criteria (40 PT+, 40 PT−). CSF opening pressure showed no significant difference between the two groups. The PT+ cohort was found to have an average BMI of 45.1 kg/m 2 , which was significantly higher than the PT− group (37.7 kg/m 2 ; p = 0.0023). PT+ pulse pressure (60.1 mm Hg) was also significantly higher than the PT− group (51.6 mm Hg; p = 0.019). PT+ patients were also significantly more likely to have sleep apnea ( p < 0.001) and migraines ( p = 0.0036). Multiple logistic regression revealed an adjusted odds ratio of 13.9 for sleep apnea, 4.1 for migraines, and 1.01 for every increase in unit of BMI. Conclusion Among patients with IIH, presence of PT is associated with higher BMI and pulse pressure, and increased incidence of sleep apnea and migraines. Given no significant difference in CSF pressures between the two groups, PT may not be a product of increased disease severity but may be related to sequelae of obesity, such as increased pulse pressure and sleep apnea.

Introduction: Acute appendicitis remains a leading cause of non-traumatic abdominal pain in children. Although a common clinical scenario in pediatric practice, correctly diagnosing appendicitis early in its course can sometimes be challenging. Several years ago, our institution created a clinical practice guideline based on use of the Pediatric Appendicitis Score with selective ultrasonography (PAS+US) and tested this pathway in a prospective observational trial to measure its performance. Our study showed that PAS+US had high sensitivity and specificity. Subsequently, use of ultrasonography first has significantly increased in our institution …

We provide an alternative construction of a (2d+2)-vertex triangulation of S2×Sd−3. We generalize this construction to give a triangulation of Si×Sd−i−1.

Martin J. Strauss, Faculty Title: We examine the card game Spot it! with applications to art, error-correcting codes, and finite fields Abstract: We'll also answer the following puzzle, related to group-testing in drug discovery. We are given 13 coins, and told that one is counterfeit and lighter than the others, or one is heavy, or all are true. We can use a pan balance and other coins known to be true. How do we find the counterfeit coin, if there is one, in three weighings?