Infections with parasites affect the local flight behaviour of swallows

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)

 

image: 

House martin tagged with an ATLAS transmitter for the recording of high-resolution movement data

view more 

Credit: Photo by Marie Klett

Swallows infected with parasites move less and in smaller ranges than healthy ones – with detrimental effects on their foraging success and their survival. As a result, infected individuals foraged in less productive areas, such as cultivated farmland, clearly avoided by their healthy conspecifics. Although infected swallows show no externally recognisable signs of infection, scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and the University of Potsdam now demonstrate the negative effects of these infections using the high-resolution tracking system ATLAS. This system records precise position data of swallows at intervals of one second using ultra-light transmitters. The results were published in the journal “Communications Biology”.

Infected animals often show no recognisable sings of infection. Particularly in the case of parasitic infections, individuals are often apparently visually unharmed, although these infections do have negative effects on the host. Typical effects of such sub-clinical infections are lethargy, weakness and a restricted radius of action. These effects may be subtle, but may have important consequences for the foraging success of individuals and thus for their reproduction or survival. Scientists from the BioMove graduate school, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), are investigating the effects of sub-clinical infections with avian blood parasites in swallows and their consequences for animal movements. Over several years, they caught house martins (Delichon urbicum) and barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), analysed them in terms of their parasite infection load and equipped them with mini-transmitters that fed high-resolution data into the ATLAS tracking system. In addition, swallows were analysed in a capture-recapture study in order to track the long-term developments and the effects of infections on survival.

“Using the ATLAS tracking system, we could reconstruct movement profiles of many swallows during the breeding season – of both healthy and infected animals”, says Marius Grabow, PhD student in the BioMove project at the Leibniz-IZW and first author of the scientific paper. “Infected individuals of both species had smaller home ranges than their uninfected conspecifics. Infected birds also rested more and spent less time foraging.” These combined effects led to infected swallows repeatedly having to forage in habitats where insects were less abundant. In particular, the infected birds reduced the range and duration of their foraging flights, probably owing to physical limitations caused by the infection, and often foraged in agricultural areas close to their colony, where there is considerably less food to be found. In contrast, non-infected swallows clearly avoided these landscapes when foraging. These comparative findings were possible because the study area in the German district of Uckermark is a mosaic of intensively utilised cultivated, agricultural land with few patchily distributed high-quality habitats for insects and insectivores.

The scientists could show that sub-clinical diseases were associated with behavioural changes. In the study, between 11 and 76 percent of swallows were infected per year, and infected individuals had lower survival probabilities between years. Especially during the breeding season, swallows depended on high energy supplies such as insects. Reduced food intake of many birds could therefore influence the demography of the populations. “It is important for the field of ecology to focus more on diseases and pathogens as possible causes of variation in movement behaviour, as this can provide information about the state of populations”, says Prof Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Head of the Department of Ecological Dynamics at the Leibniz-IZW and Professor at the Technische Universität Berlin. “Under favourable environmental conditions, many animals can be infected without the infection having strong negative effects. However, if these conditions deteriorate – for example because of climate change or changes in land use – this can increase the negative effects of an infection. In extreme cases, this could even lead to an accelerated decline or extinction of the affected species without the cause being immediately apparent. Conversely, changes in movement behaviour are also relevant for the transmission and spread of pathogens, making these scientific findings important for predicting the spatial spread of wildlife diseases.”

Parasites use their host's resources. As a result, the host has to invest additional energy for immune functions. Infected animals are therefore often lethargic and suppress activities that require a lot of energy. The BioMove scientists hypothesised that movement behaviour can serve as a reliable indicator of host performance, regardless of the mechanisms involved. “To test this, we focused on a widespread group of blood parasites that cause so-called avian malaria and are naturally common in many passerine species”, says Prof Dr Ralph Tiedemann from the University of Potsdam and head of the Laboratory for Molecular Evolutionary Biology. “Avian blood parasites such as plasmodia or leucocytozoa have complex life cycles with a two-host life cycle in which they infect the host's red blood cells. In the acute phase, the red blood cells are eventually destroyed, resulting in reduced oxygen transport to muscles and organs. This is an ideal study system to investigate the physiological effects of the infection on the host.”

This scientific investigation is a collaboration between BioMove, led by Prof Florian Jeltsch from the University of Potsdam, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where the ATLAS system was developed. ATLAS is short for “Advanced Tracking and Localisation of Animals in real-life Systems” and is a so-called reverse GPS tracking system. This means that the animal transmitters only send an encoded signal and the position is recorded and calculated by local antennas on site. This allows the animal transmitters to be smaller and lighter as they do not have to calculate the position. On the other hand, this system requires an antenna infrastructure at a local level. In the current BioMove investigation, this is being provided by a large number of local supporters in the Uckermark district, who greatly supported the set-up of antenna sites for the system and the catching of the swallows.

---

Journal

Communications Biology

DOI

10.1038/s42003-024-07114-4 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Sick without signs. Subclinical infections reduce local movements, alter habitat selection, and cause demographic shifts

Article Publication Date

1-Nov-2024

 

Security in quantum computing

National Center for Supercomputing Applications

Alongside artificial intelligence, quantum computing is one of the fastest-growing subsets in the high-performance computing community. But what happens when this relatively new and powerful computing method reaches the limit of the cyberinfrastructure and network security capabilities of today?

Researchers at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications are addressing this issue before it becomes a problem.

“The problem is urgent because practical quantum computers will break classical encryption in the next decade,” said NCSA Research Scientist Phuong Cao. “The issue of adopting quantum-resistant cryptographic network protocols or post-quantum cryptography (PQC) is critically important to democratizing quantum computing. The grand question of how existing cyberinfrastructure will support post-quantum cryptography remains unanswered.”

Cao and Jakub Sowa, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign undergraduate student and participant in the Illinois Cyber Security Scholars Program as well as the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service, presented a paper on this topic at September’s IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering in Montreal. Their findings proposed the design of a novel PQC network instrument housed at NCSA and the University of Illinois, and integrated as a part of the FABRIC testbed; showcased the latest results on PQC adoption rate across a wide spectrum of network protocols; described the current state of PQC implementation in key scientific applications like OpenSSH and SciTokens; highlighted the challenges of being quantum-resistant; and emphasized discussion of potential novel attacks.

“The main challenges of adopting PQC lie in algorithmic complexity and hardware, software and network implementation,” Cao said. “This is the first large-scale measurement of PQC adoption at national-scale supercomputing centers and our results show that only OpenSSH and Google Chrome have successfully implemented PQC and achieved an initial adoption rate of 0.029% at this time.”

Cao is the principal investigator in a recent $200,000 award from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) for a plan on “Quantum-Resistant Cryptography in Supercomputing Scientific Applications.” This will enable a network instrument to measure the adoption rate of PQC and allow universities and research centers to switch to PQC in order to safeguard sensitive data and scientific research. The project will set a national example of migrating cyberinfrastructure to be quantum resistant and build public trust in the security of scientific computing by demonstrating the increased adoption rate over time.

Cao is joined by co-principal investigators and NCSA researchers Anita Nikolich, Ravishankar Iyer and Santiago Núñez-Corrales.

“Transitioning to PQC algorithms across sectors will be a lengthy process,” Nikolich said. “Our work will be the first step to understanding the scope of the problem in the scientific infrastructure community. FABRIC touches multiple locations across the globe, which will give us good points of visibility into the challenge.”

“Quantum computing’s inherent uncertainty presents a unique opportunity to both obscure cryptographic computations and develop novel applications that exploit this uncertainty,” Iyer said. “This proposal aims to explore similar challenges, leveraging NCSA’s world-class computing resources to investigate new attacks targeting supercomputing workloads that were previously impractical.”

“This project opens a new avenue into NCSA’s quantum strategy. Potential future risks introduced by quantum technologies reconfigure now our understanding of the landscape of trust and security in advanced computing,” Núñez-Corrales said. “Mapping the adoption of PQC protocols will provide valuable information toward hardening NSF-funded cyberinfrastructure nationally. We anticipate this to be a significant and lasting contribution. In addition, and as collaborators within the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST), our project creates opportunities to interface the expertise of theorists in Quantum Information Science on campus with security concerns found in the regular operation of leadership-class supercomputing facilities.”

“This project will provide valuable input to plans for transitioning SciTokens to PQC, ensuring that our federated ecosystem for authorization on distributed scientific computing infrastructures is prepared to resist quantum computing attacks,” said NCSA Principal Research Scientist Jim Basney and principal investigator of the NSF-funded SciTokens project. “Understanding the efficiency of token signing and verification, along with the impact on token length, will be essential for planning a smooth transition.”

In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) finalized its principal set of encryption algorithms designed to withstand cyberattacks from a quantum computer. The results of an eight-year effort by NIST, these encryption standards are an example of the necessary commitment to future computing security, which Cao is involved in through the NIST High Performance Security Working Group.

---

ABOUT NCSA

The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides supercomputing, expertise and advanced digital resources for the nation’s science enterprise. At NCSA, University of Illinois faculty, staff, students and collaborators from around the globe use innovative resources to address research challenges for the benefit of science and society. NCSA has been assisting many of the world’s industry giants for over 35 years by bringing industry, researchers and students together to solve grand challenges at rapid speed and scale.

 

Structural safety monitoring of buildings with color variations

KIMM develops the world’s first monitoring technology using nano-optical sensor films to detect deformation

National Research Council of Science & Technology

 

image: 

Dr. Jae Sung Yoon (left), Principal Researcher at the Nano-lithography & Manufacturing Research Center of Nano-convergence Manufacturing Research Division at the Korea Institute

view more 

Credit: Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM)

As buildings age, the demand for effective monitoring of their structural integrity has grown significantly. A breakthrough in nano-optical sensor technology now enables precise, real-time measurement of structural deformation and stability. This innovation promises to reshape the field of structural diagnostics, offering a cost-effective, time-efficient solution that reduces the need for specialized expertise traditionally required in this area.

Led by Dr. Jae Sung Yoon, Principal Researcher at the Nano-lithography & Manufacturing Research Center within the Nano-convergence Manufacturing Research Division at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (President Seog-Hyeon Ryu, hereinafter referred to as KIMM), affiliated with the Ministry of Science and ICT, and Ph.D. candidate Nguyen Hoang Minh from the UST-KIMM School, the research team drew inspiration from the structural coloration observed in natural phenomena such as peacock feathers and morpho butterflies. The team successfully developed an advanced film-type strain sensor incorporating nano-fabrication technology. When applied to buildings or other infrastructure, the film’s color shifts in accordance with the extent and nature of deformation, facilitating the accurate and efficient detection of structural aging and damage for safety assessments.

KIMM’s nano-optical sensor technology converts mechanical deformation into visual color changes through the use of nano-patterns. This approach visualizes deformation as image data, eliminating the need for pigments, dyes, or external power sources. By utilizing smartphone technology to quantify the color, precise and detailed measurements are achieved, streamlining the traditional structural monitoring and measurement process into a simple patch application.

A longstanding technical challenge in nano-structural coloration research has been the variation in color depending on the angle of observation. The research team has achieved a breakthrough by developing a technology that ensures consistent coloration regardless of the viewing angle, marking a world-first achievement. This novel nano-pattern maintains uniform color, providing a standard reference to compensate angle-related discrepancies, thus enabling precise measurements of deformation regardless of specific observation angles.

In addition, the research team has developed an AI-combined monitoring solution that analyzes color changes to assess potential risks. By diversifying measurement methods through smartphone applications, drones, robotics, CCTV, and other advanced technologies, they are now able to detect and analyze damage and risks in buildings and structures that were previously difficult to assess. Leveraging this core technology, the team also developed a film capable of controlling the manifestation of color, allowing for its application as a transparent film that reveals patterns only under specific conditions. This advancement holds significant potential for anti-counterfeiting and security film applications.

KIMM’s nano-optical sensor technology has led to the filing of over 10 domestic patents, as well as an international patent (PCT), with an additional U.S. patent currently under review. Furthermore, this technology was highlighted as the cover paper in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Applied Nano Materials and has been accepted for publication in the esteemed journal Nanoscale Advances by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
* Paper Title: "Photonic Crystals for Dichotomous Sensitivity to Strain for Sensor and Indicator Applications", ACS Applied Nano Materials, September 13, 2024, Volume 7, Issue 17.

The research team is actively collaborating with industry partners through technical briefings and exchanges. And the team is now entering technology transfer agreement with a company, aiming to accelerate the adoption of this innovation.

Dr. Jae Sung Yoon, Principal Researcher at KIMM, remarked, “This nano-optical sensor technology revolutionizes the assessment of structural aging and stability in buildings and facilities. By delivering a high-precision monitoring solution at a reduced cost, we aim to contribute to enhancing public safety and societal stability.”

This research was supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT’s STEAM research initiative, specifically through the ‘Nano-Optical AI Construction Safety Research Group’ (led by Dr. Jae Sung Yoon) under the Bridge Convergence Research program. The project, titled ‘Development of Smart Monitoring Technology for Building Safety and Disaster Management Based on Nano-Optics and Machine Learning,’ aligns with the ministry's mission to advance technological innovation for infrastructure safety.

Dr. Jae Sung Yoon (left), Principal Researcher at the KIMM, explains the measurement results of the film-type nano-optical device.

Photos of Equipment for Nano-Optical Sensor Experiment

Cover paper of APPLIED NANO MATERIALS

Credit

Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM)

 

###

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) is a non-profit government-funded research institute under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Since its foundation in 1976, KIMM is contributing to economic growth of the nation by performing R&D on key technologies in machinery and materials, conducting reliability test evaluation, and commercializing the developed products and technologies.

---

Journal

ACS Applied Nano Materials

DOI

10.1021/acsanm.4c03243 

Article Title

Photonic Crystals for Dichotomous Sensitivity to Strain for Sensor and Indicator Applications

 

Explaining science through dance

Researchers choreograph high school students to illustrate complex topics

University of California - San Diego

 

video: 

This simulation shows the way an electron moves in a topological insulator according to a simple model.

view more 

Credit: Du et al., Science Advances 10, eadh7810 (2024). This article is licensed under CC BY-NC.

Science can be difficult to explain to the public. In fact, any subfield of science can be difficult to explain to another scientist who studies in a different area. Explaining a theoretical science concept to high school students requires a new way of thinking altogether.

This is precisely what researchers at the University of California San Diego did when they orchestrated a dance with high school students at Orange Glen High School in Escondido as a way to explain topological insulators.

The experiment, led by former graduate student Matthew Du and UC San Diego Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Joel Yuen-Zhou, was published in Science Advances.

“I think the concept is simple,” stated Yuen-Zhou. “But the math is much harder. We wanted to show that these complex ideas in theoretical and experimental physics and chemistry are actually not as impossible to understand as you might initially think.”

Topological insulators are a relatively new type of quantum material that has insulating properties on the inside, but have conductive properties on the outside. To use a Southern California staple, if a topological insulator was a burrito, the filling would be insulating and the tortilla would be conducting.

Since topological insulators are able to withstand some disorder and deformation, they can be synthesized and used under conditions where imperfections can arise. For this reason, they hold promise in the areas of quantum computing and lasers, and in creating more efficient electronics.

To bring these quantum materials to life, the researchers made a dancefloor (topological insulator) by creating a grid with pieces of blue and red tape. Then to choreograph the dance, Du created a series of rules that governed how individual dancers moved.

These rules are based on what is known as a Hamiltonian in quantum mechanics. Electrons obey rules given by a Hamiltonian, which represents the total energy of a quantum system, including kinetic and potential energy. The Hamiltonian encodes the interactions of the electron in the potential energy of the material.

Each dancer (electron) had a pair of flags and was given a number that corresponded to a movement:

•  1 = wave flags with arms pointing up
•  0 = stand still
• -1 = wave flags with arms pointing down

Subsequent moves were based on what a neighboring dancer did and the color of the tape on the floor. A dancer would mimic a neighbor with blue tape, but do the opposite of a neighbor with red tape. Individual mistakes or dancers leaving the floor didn’t disrupt the overall dance, exhibiting the robustness of topological insulators.

In addition to topology, Yuen-Zhou’s lab also studies chemical processes and photonics, and it was in thinking of light waves that they realized the movement of a group of people also resembled a wave. This gave Yuen-Zhou the idea of using dance to explain a complex topic like topological insulators. Implementing this idea seemed like a fun challenge to Du, who is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago and takes salsa lessons in his free time.

Du, who comes from a family of educators and is committed to scientific outreach, says the project gave him an appreciation for being able to distill science into its simplest elements.

“We wanted to demystify these concepts in a way that was unconventional and fun,” he stated. “Hopefully, the students were able to see that science can be made understandable and enjoyable by relating it to everyday life.”   

Full list of authors: Matthew Du, Juan B. Pérez-Sánchez, Jorge A. Campos-Gonzalez-Angulo, Arghadip Koner, Federico Mellini, Sindhana Pannir-Sivajothi, Yong Rui Poh, Kai Schwennicke, Kunyang Sun, Stephan van den Wildenberg, Alec Barron and Joel Yuen-Zhou (all UC San Diego); and Dylan Karzen (Orange Glen High School).

This research was supported by an National Science Foundation CAREER grant (CHE 1654732).

---

Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.adh7810 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Article Title

Chiral edge waves in a dance-based human topological insulator

 

Japanese study reveals the importance of new overtime restrictions on physician’s mental health

Researchers conducted a national-level survey to assess the link between sleep duration, objective alertness, and psychological health in Japanese physicians

Juntendo University Research Promotion Center

 

image: 

Responses during psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) are a reliable indicator of depression and burnout. PVT can be extended to other classes of professionals with long work hours to assess their mental health.

view more 

Credit: Professor Hiroo Wada, and Professor Takeshi Tanigawa from Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, and Dr. Mathias Basner, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, USA

Physicians are a vital component of the healthcare landscape and along with other medical professionals, they ensure timely diagnosis, treatment, and management of complex illnesses. They regularly work extended and overnight shifts, often at the cost of sleep. However, the long duty hours of physicians can lead to physical and mental exhaustion, resulting in negative consequences such as depression and burnout. Consequently, this can affect their level of alertness and thus the quality of patient care. To protect the health of Japanese physicians, a duty hour reform went into effect in 2024, limiting overtime to 960 hours annually with exceptions for physicians who serve rural areas and medical trainees, whose overtime was limited to 1,860 hours annually.

 

Although several studies have explored the correlation between work hours and sleep in physicians at large, studies investigating the effects of long work hours on sleep duration and alertness in Japanese physicians are scarce. To address this research gap and to investigate the benefits of the newly implemented overtime limits, a team of scientists have conducted a national-level survey to evaluate the link between sleep duration, alertness, and psychological health in 1,226 Japanese physicians. The research group consisted of Professor Hiroo Wada and Professor Takeshi Tanigawa from Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan, along with Drs. Mathias Basner, David Dinges, and Makayla Cordoza from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, USA.

 

They used standardized surveys to assess physician sleep duration as well as symptoms of burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory) and depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). A brief Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT-B) was utilized to objectively assess physician alertness. Their research findings were published in the Journal of Sleep Research, on August 12 2024.

 

Explaining the motivation behind the present research, Dr. Wada says, “We believe that the PVT is a key tool to objectively assess alertness levels of essential workers, since self-reported alertness is inaccurate at identifying those with sleep debt, as shown in one of our previous studies. To establish an objective means of assessing alertness and its associations with mental and physical health of physicians who work for extended durations, we collaborated with the University of Pennsylvania, where the PVT was originally developed.”

 

The researchers found that daily sleep duration was inversely related to weekly work hours, and slower responses on the PVT were significantly associated with both short and long sleep duration. Furthermore, they discovered that additional duty hours were linked to increased severity of burnout and higher odds of being involved in an accident. Notably, attentional lapses on the PVT were also associated with increased depression and intense feelings of burnout. These findings suggest that PVT performance may be a useful marker of psychological health, but future studies will have to corroborate this finding.

 

“The stricter 960-hour annual overtime cap will likely benefit Japanese physician sleep and mental health. Future studies will need to show whether the suggested cap will be able to relevantly reduce overtime and improve sleep, alertness, and mental health in physicians, or whether an even stricter cap is necessary.” says Dr. Basner, a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine who developed the brief version of the PVT and has used it in many different populations, including US physicians and astronauts.

 

The present study supports the use of the PVT as an objective assessment tool of physicians' alertness, as recommended in the "Manual on Health Security Measures for Physicians Who Work Long Hours" in Japan. Dr. Tanigawa, emphasizing the real-life applications of their research work adds, “Almost doubling the overtime cap for physicians and for medical trainees who serve rural areas may make sense from an administrative perspective but makes little sense from a public health and safety perspective. The same cap should apply to all physicians regardless of the sector they work in or their career progression.”

 

This research study underscores the importance of adequate rest and appropriate sleep duration in maintaining psychological health and alertness levels in physicians. Overall, the study will contribute towards better quality-of-life of the physicians and their patients.

 

Reference

Authors	Hiroo Wada1, Mathias Basner2, Makayla Cordoza3, David Dinges2, and Takeshi Tanigawa1
Title of original paper	Objective alertness, rather than sleep duration, is associated with burnout and depression: a national survey of Japanese physicians
Journal	Journal of Sleep Research
DOI	10.1111/jsr.14304
Affiliations	1Department of Public Health, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, USA 3Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, USA

 

About Professor Hiroo Wada

Hiroo Wada serves as a Professor in the Department of Public Health, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.   He received MD and PhD from The University of Tokyo, Japan, and MBA from Hitotsubashi University, Japan, and pursued his higher studies at Imperial College London, UK.  He has been involved in clinical and public health research focusing on the health effect of environmental exposures, i.e. investigation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and sleep health among children at school and among adults in workplace.  The latter constituted a scientific basis for physicians' work-style reform. He has published more than 110 papers with 1,710 citations.

 

About Professor Takeshi Tanigawa

Takeshi Tanigawa is a Professor in the Department of Public Health, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. His research focuses on epidemiological studies of sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, and occupational medicine. He received his PhD from The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine in 1990. Over the years, he has published 238 papers and four book chapters that have been cited more than 4,200 times. Currently, he is the chair of the department of public health, Juntendo University, and is on the board of various committees and professional bodies.

 

About Professor Mathias Basner

Dr. Mathias Basner is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, USA. His expertise involves sleep, and chronobiology, environmental effects on sleep and health, and astronaut behavioral health. He received his MD and PhD from the University of Bochum, Germany, and his MSc in Epidemiology from Bielefeld University, Germany. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Behavioral Regulation & Health Section and the Unit for Experimental Psychiatry, Division of Sleep and Chronobiology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

---

Journal

Journal of Sleep Research

DOI

10.1111/jsr.14304 

Nurse burnout and patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of care

JAMA Network Open

About The Study: Nurse burnout was found to be associated with lower health care quality and safety and lower patient satisfaction in this systematic review and meta-analysis. This association was consistent across nurse and study characteristics.

Corresponding author: To contact the corresponding author, Peilin Yang, B.S., email peilin.yang@upf.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.43059)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

#  #  #

Embed this link to provide your readers free access to the full-text article This link will be live at the embargo time http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.43059?utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_term=110524

About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

---

Journal

JAMA Network Open

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Objective alertness, rather than sleep duration, is associated with burnout and depression: a national survey of Japanese physicians

Article Publication Date

12-Aug-2024

COI Statement

Authors has no conflict regarding this study

 

Students’ challenges in general upper secondary education should be better acknowledged – school burnout can be prevented with the right measures

University of Eastern Finland

School burnout can manifest in students in different ways. Some might feel tired or anxious, while in others, burnout may manifest as a negative attitude towards school. Early detection of the various signs and symptoms of burnout is important, as it is likely that a student experiencing burnout symptoms in one area will later experience them in other areas, too. 

Conducted at the University of Eastern Finland, a recent study following more than 200 Finnish general upper secondary school students over three years explored associations of students’ perceived and received support, student engagement, and gender with the different dimensions of school burnout, i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy. 

The study found that exhaustion, cynicism and inadequacy were associated with one another in the first year of general upper secondary school. The more school burnout increased in one of these dimensions, the more it subsequently increased in the other two dimensions as well. 

According to the first author of the study, Doctoral Researcher Fiia Söderholm, of the three dimensions of burnout, exhaustion was highest in the first year, remaining relatively stable during the three years of general upper secondary school. In contrast, cynicism and inadequacy, which were initially lower, increased over the years.    

The study also found differences in the associations between student engagement and school burnout. If a student was emotionally engaged in their studies, this was a predictor of less exhaustion and fewer feelings of inadequacy. If a student’s engagement was related to their personal goals and seeing school as meaningful for their future, this was a predictor of less cynicism. 

Girls experienced more exhaustion and feelings of inadequacy than boys, but there were no gender differences with regard to cynicism. 

Burnout starts already in lower secondary school? 

The study also found that support received in lower secondary school was not in any way associated with school burnout experienced in general upper secondary school. However, there were associations between school burnout and support received in general upper secondary school. The more often a student felt they received the support they needed for, e.g., learning, the less burnout they experienced in the first year of general upper secondary school. However, this support was not enough to prevent an increase in burnout in the second and third years. 

According to Söderholm, it is possible that students are experiencing burnout already when entering general upper secondary school, as exhaustion is relatively high already at that time. She notes that it is important to consider whether there are factors in lower secondary school that increase the risk of burnout. Effective flow of information between lower secondary and general upper secondary schools is also particularly important. 
 

Properly targeted support in general upper secondary school 

General upper secondary school gets increasingly challenging in the second and the third year, and it is important to acknowledge these growing demands as a potential cause of burnout. The subject matter becomes more challenging, expectations of independent study grow, and the approaching matriculation examination puts its pressures on students. Previous studies by Söderholm and colleagues have shown that student engagement also weakens after the first year.

According to Söderholm, the differences and challenges of the different years of general upper secondary school should be better acknowledged, and support measures should be targeted accordingly to prevent the development of burnout. The role of other structural factors should be considered as well, including the curricular demands set for students in lower and general upper secondary school, and the decisive role of the matriculation examination in university admissions. 

However, Söderholm emphasises that sufficient support should be easily and readily available to general upper secondary school students, considering their individual needs. In the future, it is important to investigate what kind of support general upper secondary school students want, and specifically from whom. 

---

Journal

Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

DOI

10.1080/00313831.2024.2419066 

Article Title

The development of exhaustion, cynicism, and inadequacy in general upper secondary education: perceived and received support, student engagement, and gender as predictors