Saint Louis University

About: Saint Louis University is a education organization based out in St Louis, Missouri, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 18927 authors who have published 34895 publications receiving 1267475 citations. The organization is also known as: SLU & St. Louis University.

Cognitive function following acute sleep restriction in children ages 10-14.

Abstract: STUDY OBJECTIVES: Various aspects of human performance were assessed in children after sleep loss PARTICIPANTS: Sixteen children (7 males, 9 females) between the ages of 10 and 14 years DESIGN AND INTERVENTIONS: Children were randomly assigned to either a control (CTRL) group, with 11 hours in bed, or an experimental sleep restriction (SR) group, with 5 hours in bed, on a single night in the sleep laboratory MEASUREMENTS: Both groups were evaluated the following day with a battery of performance and sleepiness measures Psychomotor and cognitive performance tests were given during four 1-hour testing sessions at 2-hour intervals RESULTS: A multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) documented shorter latencies for SR children than controls Significant treatment differences were discovered in three of four variables of verbal creativity, including fluency, flexibility, and average indices There were also group differences found on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which may be indicative of difficulty learning new abstract concepts Measures of rote performance and less-complex cognitive functions, including measures of memory and learning and figural creativity, did not show differences between groups, perhaps because motivation could overcome sleepiness-related impairment for these tasks CONCLUSIONS: Higher cognitive functions in children, such as verbal creativity and abstract thinking, are impaired after a single night of restricted sleep, even when routine performance is relatively maintained Language: en

Clinical depression and inflammatory risk markers for coronary heart disease.

Abstract: Despite mounting evidence that psychiatric depression heightens risk for cardiac morbidity and mortality, little is known about the mechanisms responsible for this association. The present study examined the relation between depression and the expression of inflammatory risk markers implicated in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD). One hundred adults were enrolled (68% women, 48% Caucasian, 48% African-American, mean age 30 +/- 2 years). Fifty subjects met the diagnostic criteria for clinical depression; the remaining 50 were demographically matched controls with no history of psychiatric illness. All subjects were in excellent health, defined as having no acute infectious disease, chronic medical illness, or regular medication regimen aside from oral contraceptives. The depressed subjects exhibited significantly higher levels of the inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (3.5 +/- 0.5 vs 2.5 +/- 5 mg/L, p = 0.04) and interleukin-6 (3.0 +/- 0.3 vs 1.9 +/- 0.2 pg/ml, p = 0.007) compared with control subjects. Mediational analyses aimed at identifying the pathways contributing to this association revealed that neither cigarette smoking nor subclinical infection with cytomegalovirus or Chlamydia pneumoniae had been responsible. However, depressed subjects exhibited greater body mass than control subjects, and analyses were consistent with adiposity accounting for a portion of the relation between clinical depression and increased expression of inflammatory markers. These findings indicate that in otherwise healthy adults, depression is associated with heightened expression of inflammatory markers implicated in the pathogenesis of CHD. Increased body mass appears to be partially, although not completely, responsible for this relation.

Cognitive Effort during Note Taking.

Abstract: Note taking is a complex activity that requires comprehension and selection of information and written production processes. Here we review the functions, abbreviation procedures, strategies, and working memory constraints of note taking with the aim of improving theoretical and practical understanding of the activity. The time urgency of selecting key points and recording them while comprehending new information at the same time places significant demands on the central executive and other components of working memory. Dual- and triple-task procedures allow the measurement of the momentary cognitive effort or executive attention allocated to note taking. Comparative data show that note taking demands more effort than reading or learning. However, it requires less effort than the creative written composition of an original text. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Relationship between supply chain performance and degree of linkage among supplier, internal integration, and customer

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the relationship between supply chain linkages and supply chain performance (cost‐containment and reliability of supply chain partners).Design/methodology/approach – Multivariate regression models are developed in order to identify the characteristics of determinants of linkages in the supply chain stakeholders (suppliers, internal stakeholders and customers). The survey was administered to individuals identified from a list of US executive officers, directors, presidents, or vice presidents. Among four hundred respondents, 122 were considered as valid from those who practice supply chain management for their business operations.Findings – Internal integration is the most important contributor to cost‐containment while integration with the supplier is the best strategy to achieve supply chain reliable performance. Availability of electronic ordering systems for customers is an important strategy in cost‐containment. Fast and easy ordering is the best strat...