Background: Sleep is an important physiological process for humans. University students in most resource limited countries often report poor sleep quality due to changing social opportunities and increasing academic demands. However, sleep quality among university students has not been studied in Ethiopia. Thus, this study assessed sleep quality and its demographic and psychological correlates among university students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in two universities in Ethiopia. Multistage sampling procedures were used to enroll 2,817 students into the study. A self-administered structured questionnaire including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and selected modules of the World Health Organization STEPS instrument was used for the study. This research included 2,551 students. Frequency, median, mean with standard deviation and 95% confidence interval were used to characterize sleep quality and other variables. Analysis of variance and binary logistic regression procedures were also used. Result: The prevalence of poor sleep quality (total PSQI score > 5) was 55.8% (1,424). Female students (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.23; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.57), second year (AOR 2.91; 95% CI: 2.1, 4.02) and third year students (AOR 2.25; 95% CI 1.62, 3.12) had statistically significant higher odds of poor sleep quality. Perceived stress level and symptoms of depression and anxiety were strongly associated with sleep quality. Conclusion: A substantial proportion of university students are affected by poor sleep quality. If our results are confirmed in prospective studies, health promotion and educational programs for students should emphasize the importance of sleep and mental health.
[Copyright of BioMed Central Ltd. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-12-237]

The strong association between music and speech has been supported by recent research focusing on musicians' superior abilities in second language learning and neural encoding of foreign speech sounds. However, evidence for a double association-the influence of linguistic background on music pitch processing and disorders-remains elusive. Because languages differ in their usage of elements (e.g., pitch) that are also essential for music, a unique opportunity for examining such language-to-music associations comes from a cross-cultural (linguistic) comparison of congenital amusia, a neurogenetic disorder affecting the music (pitch and rhythm) processing of about 5% of the Western population. In the present study, two populations (Hong Kong and Canada) were compared. One spoke a tone language in which differences in voice pitch correspond to differences in word meaning (in Hong Kong Cantonese, /si/ means 'teacher' and 'to try' when spoken in a high and mid pitch pattern, respectively). Using the On-line Identification Test of Congenital Amusia, we found Cantonese speakers as a group tend to show enhanced pitch perception ability compared to speakers of Canadian French and English (non-tone languages). This enhanced ability occurs in the absence of differences in rhythmic perception and persists even after relevant factors such as musical background and age were controlled. Following a common definition of amusia (5% of the population), we found Hong Kong pitch amusics also show enhanced pitch abilities relative to their Canadian counterparts. These findings not only provide critical evidence for a double association of music and speech, but also argue for the reconceptualization of communicative disorders within a cultural framework. Along with recent studies documenting cultural differences in visual perception, our auditory evidence challenges the common assumption of universality of basic mental processes and speaks to the domain generality of culture-to-perception

Background: Sleep deprivation is common among teenagers. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, wake/sleep symptoms, and academic performance among Hong Kong students.
Materials and methods: The sleep habit questionnaires were distributed to all Year 11 students at an international school that catered to different ethnic groups in Hong Kong. Analysis of various parameters of academic performance and sleep habits and their relationships were undertaken.
Results: Fifty-nine students were recruited. The average sleep duration in this group was 7.23 h. The overall prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness (defined as an Epworth Sleepiness Scale score of >10) was 25.4%. Eleven subjects had excessive class sleepiness, defined as high likelihood to fall asleep during at least one school session. Mathematics performance was positively correlated with sleep duration. Excessive sleepiness on rising was identified as a significant risk factor for poor performance in English and Mathematics. Sleepiness during the third and fourth lessons was identified as a significant risk factor for poor performance in Mathematics only.
Conclusion: Sleep deprivation was common in the studied cohort and it was associated with a decrease in Mathematics performance. Excessive sleepiness on rising and sleepiness during third and fourth lessons were associated with poorer grades in Mathematics and English. Excessive daytime sleepiness was reported in 25% of students. Bruxism and snoring were associated with excessive daytime sleepiness.
[Copyright of Sleep and Breathing is the property of Springer. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11325-009-0255-5]

Objective. To examine the independent, competing, and interactive effects of perceived availability of specific types of media in the home and neighborhood sport facilities on adolescents' leisure-time physical activity (PA).
Methods. Survey data from 34 369 students in 42 Hong Kong secondary schools were collected (2006-07). Respondents reported moderate-to-vigorous leisure-time PA, presence of sport facilities in the neighborhood and of media equipment in the home. Being sufficiently physically active was defined as engaging in at least 30 minutes of non-school leisure-time PA on a daily basis. Logistic regression and post-estimation linear combinations of regression coefficients were used to examine the independent and competing effects of sport facilities and media equipment on leisure-time PA.
Results. Perceived availability of sport facilities was positively (ORboys = 1.17; ORgirls = 1.26), and that of computer/Internet negatively (ORboys = 0.48; ORgirls = 0.41), associated with being sufficiently active. A significant positive association between video game console and being sufficiently active was found in girls (ORgirls = 1.19) but not in boys. Compared with adolescents without sport facilities and media equipment, those who reported sport facilities only were more likely to be physically active (ORboys = 1.26; ORgirls = 1.34), while those who additionally reported computer/Internet were less likely to be physically active (OR boys = 0.60; ORgirls = 0.54).
Conclusions. Perceived availability of sport facilities in the neighborhood may positively impact on adolescents' level of physical activity. However, having computer/Internet may cancel out the effects of active opportunities in the neighborhood. This suggests that physical activity programs for adolescents need to consider limiting the access to computer-mediated communication as an important intervention component.
[Copyright of International Journal of Pediatric Obesity is the

Overexcitabilities (OEs) are ways that an individual experiences the world and can be understood as channels of information flow. The current study examined the profile of OEs among a group of Hong Kong children. Participants included 229 non-gifted and 217 gifted children. OEs were measured using the Overexcitability Questionnaire II. Results indicated that there were differences between the gifted and the non-gifted groups in all OE subscales. Gender differences were also identified. Females, in both gifted and non-gifted groups, have a significantly higher score in Emotional OE when compared to males. In addition, gifted females also scored significantly higher than their male counterparts in Sensual OE. Results of this study were compared to a group of American children (based on C.L. Tieso's work on overexcitabilities in 2007). The implications and limitations of this study are presented.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188790903503601]