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Orsini F, Domenie ED, Zarantonello L, Costa R, Montagnese S, Rossi R. Long-term effects of daylight saving time on driving fatigue. Heliyon 2024; 10:e34956. [PMID: 39145016 PMCID: PMC11320437 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of the relationship between Daylight Saving Time (DST) and road safety has yielded contrasting results, most likely in relation to the inability of crash-database approaches to unravel positive (ambient lighting-related) and negative (circadian/sleep-related) effects, and to significant geographical differences in lighting-related effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of DST on driving fatigue, as measured by driving-based, physiological and subjective indicators obtained from a driving simulator experiment. Thirty-seven participants (73 % males, 23 ± 2 years) completed a series of 50-min trials in a monotonous highway environment: Trial 1 was in the week prior to the Spring DST transition, Trial 2 in the following week, and Trial 3 in the fourth week after the transition. Thirteen participants returned for Trial 4, in the week prior to the Autumn switch to civil time, and Trial 5 in the following week. Significant adverse effects of DST on vehicle lateral control and eyelid closure were documented in Trial 2 and Trial 3 compared to Trial 1, with no statistical differences between Trials 2 and 3. Further worsening in vehicle lateral control was documented in Trials 4 and 5. Eyelid closure worsened up to Trial 4, and improved in Trial 5. Participants were unaware of their worsening performance based on subjective indicators. In conclusion, DST has a detrimental impact on driving fatigue during the whole time during which it is in place. Such an impact is comparable, for example, to that associated with driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.5 g/L.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Orsini
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- MoBe – Mobility and Behavior Research Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | | | | | - Rodolfo Costa
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council (CNR), Padua, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Chronobiology Section, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Sara Montagnese
- Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Chronobiology Section, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Riccardo Rossi
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- MoBe – Mobility and Behavior Research Center, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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Ganz TR, Bassing SB, DeVivo MT, Gardner B, Kertson BN, Satterfield LC, Shipley LA, Turnock BY, Walker SL, Abrahamson D, Wirsing AJ, Prugh LR. White-tailed deer population dynamics in a multipredator landscape shaped by humans. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2024; 34:e3003. [PMID: 38890813 DOI: 10.1002/eap.3003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
Large terrestrial mammals increasingly rely on human-modified landscapes as anthropogenic footprints expand. Land management activities such as timber harvest, agriculture, and roads can influence prey population dynamics by altering forage resources and predation risk via changes in habitat, but these effects are not well understood in regions with diverse and changing predator guilds. In northeastern Washington state, USA, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are vulnerable to multiple carnivores, including recently returned gray wolves (Canis lupus), within a highly human-modified landscape. To understand the factors governing predator-prey dynamics in a human context, we radio-collared 280 white-tailed deer, 33 bobcats (Lynx rufus), 50 cougars (Puma concolor), 28 coyotes (C. latrans), and 14 wolves between 2016 and 2021. We first estimated deer vital rates and used a stage-structured matrix model to estimate their population growth rate. During the study, we observed a stable to declining deer population (lambda = 0.97, 95% confidence interval: 0.88, 1.05), with 74% of Monte Carlo simulations indicating population decrease and 26% of simulations indicating population increase. We then fit Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate how predator exposure, use of human-modified landscapes, and winter severity influenced deer survival and used these relationships to evaluate impacts on overall population growth. We found that the population growth rate was dually influenced by a negative direct effect of apex predators and a positive effect of timber harvest and agricultural areas. Cougars had a stronger effect on deer population dynamics than wolves, and mesopredators had little influence on the deer population growth rate. Areas of recent timber harvest had 55% more forage biomass than older forests, but horizontal visibility did not differ, suggesting that timber harvest did not influence predation risk. Although proximity to roads did not affect the overall population growth rate, vehicle collisions caused a substantial proportion of deer mortalities, and reducing these collisions could be a win-win for deer and humans. The influence of apex predators and forage indicates a dual limitation by top-down and bottom-up factors in this highly human-modified system, suggesting that a reduction in apex predators would intensify density-dependent regulation of the deer population owing to limited forage availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor R Ganz
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Sarah B Bassing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Melia T DeVivo
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
| | - Beth Gardner
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Brian N Kertson
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA
| | - Lauren C Satterfield
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Lisa A Shipley
- School of the Environment, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington, USA
| | | | | | | | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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Gao C, Lage C, Scullin MK. Medical malpractice litigation and daylight saving time. J Clin Sleep Med 2024; 20:933-940. [PMID: 38445709 PMCID: PMC11145060 DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.11038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES Daylight saving time (DST) constitutes a natural quasi-experiment to examine the influence of mild sleep loss and circadian misalignment. We investigated the acute effects of spring transition into DST and the chronic effects of DST (compared to standard time) on medical malpractice claims in the United States over 3 decades. METHODS We analyzed 288,432 malpractice claims from the National Practitioner Data Bank. To investigate the acute effects of spring DST transition, we compared medical malpractice incidents/decisions 1 week before spring DST transition, 1 week following spring DST transition, and the rest of the year. To investigate the chronic effects of DST months, we compared medical malpractice incidents/decisions averaged across the 7-8 months of DST vs the 4-5 months of standard time. RESULTS With regard to acute effects, spring DST transitions were significantly associated with higher payment decisions but not associated with the severity of medical incidents. With regard to chronic effects, the 7-8 DST months were associated with higher average payments and worse severity of incidents than the 4-5 standard time months. CONCLUSIONS The mild sleep loss and circadian misalignment associated with DST may influence the incidence of medical errors and decisions on medical malpractice payments both acutely and chronically. CITATION Gao C, Lage C, Scullin MK. Medical malpractice litigation and daylight saving time. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(6):933-940.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenlu Gao
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
- Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Candice Lage
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
| | - Michael K. Scullin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, Texas
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Antle MC. The controversy over daylight saving time: evidence for and against. Curr Opin Pulm Med 2023; 29:574-579. [PMID: 37578383 DOI: 10.1097/mcp.0000000000001003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Biannual clock changes to and from daylight saving time have been pervasive in many societies for over 50 years. Governments are considering abandoning this practice and choosing a single permanent time. RECENT FINDINGS Our endogenous circadian clock follows our photoperiod, which changes over the year. The acute disruption caused by changing our clocks can affect safety (motor vehicle and on the job accidents), health (cardiovascular disease, drug overdoses, suicide), and human behavior (sport performance, generosity, and procrastination). Although abandoning the clock change could help avoid these acute harms, choosing the wrong permanent time could lead to chronic circadian misalignment, which could have even more profound implications for health, safety, and human behavior. SUMMARY Ceasing the biannual clock change may be a good choice, but governments need to be mindful of which permanent time to adopt. Many regions of the world already follow the wrong time during standard time, and circadian misalignment would be amplified by moving to permanent daylight saving time. In many regions, Standard Time better aligns with our circadian clock, thus providing a more natural light cycle that minimizes circadian misalignment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael C Antle
- Department of Psychology
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Cumming School of Medicine
- Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Winnebeck EC. Chronobiology: Is daylight saving time a deer-saving time? Curr Biol 2022; 32:R1283-R1286. [PMID: 36327978 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Earlier human activity relative to sunrise and sunset, the very essence of daylight saving time, is linked with health and safety detriments in humans. A new study predicts that deer, at least, may benefit from earlier human activity through reduced deer-vehicle collisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva C Winnebeck
- Section of Chronobiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK; Institute of Human Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Institute of Neurogenetics, Computational Health Center, Helmholtz Center Munich, Munich, Germany.
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