Home | << 1 2 >> |
![]() |
Filipski, E., Subramanian, P., Carriere, J., Guettier, C., Barbason, H., & Levi, F. (2009). Circadian disruption accelerates liver carcinogenesis in mice. Mutat Res, 680(1-2), 95–105.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The circadian timing system rhythmically controls behavior, physiology, cellular proliferation and xenobiotic metabolism over the 24-h period. The suprachiasmatic nuclei in the hypothalamus coordinate the molecular clocks in most mammalian cells through an array of circadian physiological rhythms including rest-activity, body temperature, feeding patterns and hormonal secretions. As a result, shift work that involves circadian disruption is probably carcinogenic in humans. In experimental models, chronic jet-lag (CJL) suppresses rest-activity and body temperature rhythms and accelerates growth of two transplantable tumors in mice. CJL also suppresses or significantly alters the expression rhythms of clock genes in liver and tumors. Circadian clock disruption from CJL downregulates p53 and upregulates c-Myc, thus favoring cellular proliferation. Here, we investigate the role of CJL as a tumor promoter in mice exposed to the hepatic carcinogen, diethylnitrosamine (DEN). METHODS: In experiment 1 (Exp 1), the dose-dependent carcinogenicity of chronic intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of DEN was explored in mice. In Exp 2, mice received DEN at 10 mg/kg/day (cumulative dose: 243 mg/kg), then were randomized to remain in a photoperiodic regimen where 12 h of light alternates with 12 h of darkness (LD 12:12) or to be submitted to CJL (8-h advance of light onset every 2 days). Rest-activity and body temperature were monitored. Serum liver enzymes were determined repeatedly. Mice were sacrificed and examined for neoplastic lesions at 10 months. RESULTS: In Exp 1, DEN produced liver cancers in all the mice receiving 10 mg/kg/day. In Exp 2, mice on CJL had increased mean plasma levels of aspartate aminotransferase and more liver tumors as compared to LD mice at approximately 10 months (p = 0.005 and 0.028, respectively). The mean diameter of the largest liver tumor was twice as large in CJL vs LD mice (8.5 vs 4.4 mm, p = 0.027). In LD, a single histologic tumor type per liver was observed. In CJL, up to four different types were associated in the same liver (hepatocellular- or cholangio-carcinomas, sarcomas or mixed tumors). DEN itself markedly disrupted the circadian rhythms in rest-activity and body temperature in all the mice. DEN-induced disruption was prolonged for >or= 3 months by CJL exposure. CONCLUSIONS: The association of circadian disruption with chronic DEN exposure suggests that circadian clocks actively control the mechanisms of liver carcinogenesis in mice. Persistent circadian coordination may further be critical for slowing down and/or reverting cancer development after carcinogen exposure.
Keywords: Human Health; Animals; Alanine Transaminase/blood; Animals; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood; Bile Duct Neoplasms/chemically induced/pathology; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic/drug effects/pathology; Body Weight/drug effects; Carcinogens/administration & dosage/*toxicity; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/chemically induced/pathology; Cholangiocarcinoma/chemically induced/pathology; Circadian Rhythm/*drug effects; Diethylnitrosamine/administration & dosage/*toxicity; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Liver/drug effects/pathology; Liver Neoplasms/blood/*chemically induced/pathology; Male; Mice; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary/chemically induced/pathology; Sarcoma/chemically induced/pathology; Time Factors
|
Grauer, A. D., Grauer, P. A., Davies, N., & Davies, G. (2019). Impact of Space Weather on the Natural Night Sky. PASP, 131(1005), 114508.
Abstract: In 2018, Solar Cycle 24 entered a deep solar minimum. During this period, we collected night sky brightness data at Cosmic Campground International Dark Sky Sanctuary (CCIDSS) in the USA (2018 September 4–2019 January 4) and at Aotea/Great Barrier Island International Dark Sky Sanctuary (AGBIIDSS) in New Zealand (2018 March 26–August 31. These sites have artificial-light-pollution-free natural night skies. The equipment employed are identical Unihedron SQM-LU-DL meters, used as single-channel differential photometers, to scan the sky as Earth rotates on its axis. We have developed new analysis techniques which select those data points which are uninfluenced by Sun, Moon, or clouds to follow brightness changes at selected points on the celestial sphere and to measure the brightness of the airglow above its quiescent level. The 2018 natural night sky was measured to change in brightness by approximately 0.9 mag arcsec−2 at both locations. Preliminary results indicate the modulations of the light curves (brightness versus R.A.) we observed are related in complex ways to elements of space weather conditions in the near-Earth environment. In particular, episodes of increased night sky brightness are observed to be contemporaneous with geomagnetic activity, increases in mean solar wind speed, and some solar proton/electron fluence events. Charged particles in the solar wind take days to reach near-Earth environment after a coronal hole is observed to be facing in our direction. Use of this information could make it possible to predict increases in Earth’s natural night sky brightness several days in advance. What we have learned during this solar minimum leads us to search for other solar driven changes in night sky brightness as the Sun begins to move into solar maximum conditions.
Keywords: Darkness; night sky brightness; United States; New Zealand; Sun; space weather; solar wind
|
Holzhauer S.I.J., Franke S., Kyba C.C.M., Manfrin A., Klenke R., Voigt C.C., et al. (2015). Out of the Dark: Establishing a Large-Scale Field Experiment to Assess the Effects of Artificial Light at Night on Species and Food Webs. Sustainability, 7(11), 15593–15616.
Abstract: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is one of the most obvious hallmarks of human presence in an ecosystem. The rapidly increasing use of artificial light has fundamentally transformed nightscapes throughout most of the globe, although little is known about how ALAN impacts the biodiversity and food webs of illuminated ecosystems. We developed a large-scale experimental infrastructure to study the effects of ALAN on a light-naïve, natural riparian (i.e., terrestrial-aquatic) ecosystem. Twelve street lights (20 m apart) arranged in three rows parallel to an agricultural drainage ditch were installed on each of two sites located in a grassland ecosystem in northern Germany. A range of biotic, abiotic, and photometric data are collected regularly to study the short- and long-term effects of ALAN on behavior, species interactions, physiology, and species composition of communities. Here we describe the infrastructure setup and data collection methods, and characterize the study area including photometric measurements. None of the measured parameters differed significantly between sites in the period before illumination. Results of one short-term experiment, carried out with one site illuminated and the other acting as a control, demonstrate the attraction of ALAN by the immense and immediate increase of insect catches at the lit street lights. The experimental setup provides a unique platform for carrying out interdisciplinary research on sustainable lighting.
|
Moaraf, S., Vistoropsky, Y., Pozner, T., Heiblum, R., Okuliarova, M., Zeman, M., et al. (2019). Artificial light at night affects brain plasticity and melatonin in birds. Neurosci Lett, , in press.
Abstract: Artificial light at night (ALAN), which disrupts the daily cycle of light, has vast biological impacts on all organisms, and is also associated with several health problems. The few existing studies on neuronal plasticity and cognitive functions in mammals indicate that a disruption of the circadian cycle impairs learning and memory and suppresses neurogenesis. However, nothing is known about the effect of ALAN on neuronal plasticity in birds. To this end, zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) were exposed to ecologically relevant ALAN intensities (0.5, 1.5 and 5 lux), treated with BrdU to quantify cell proliferation in their ventricular zone (VZ), and compared to controls that were kept under dark nights. We found, in our diurnal birds, that ALAN significantly increased cell proliferation in the VZ. However, neuronal densities in two brain regions decreased under ALAN, suggesting neuronal death. In addition, ALAN suppressed nocturnal melatonin production in a dose-dependent manner, and might also increase body mass. Taken together, our findings add to the notion of the deleterious effect of ALAN.
|
Ouyang, J. Q., Davies, S., & Dominoni, D. (2018). Hormonally mediated effects of artificial light at night on behavior and fitness: linking endocrine mechanisms with function. J Exp Biol, 221(Pt 6).
Abstract: Alternation between day and night is a predictable environmental fluctuation that organisms use to time their activities. Since the invention of artificial lighting, this predictability has been disrupted and continues to change in a unidirectional fashion with increasing urbanization. As hormones mediate individual responses to changing environments, endocrine systems might be one of the first systems affected, as well as being the first line of defense to ameliorate any negative health impacts. In this Review, we first highlight how light can influence endocrine function in vertebrates. We then focus on four endocrine axes that might be affected by artificial light at night (ALAN): pineal, reproductive, adrenal and thyroid. Throughout, we highlight key findings, rather than performing an exhaustive review, in order to emphasize knowledge gaps that are hindering progress on proposing impactful and concrete plans to ameliorate the negative effects of ALAN. We discuss these findings with respect to impacts on human and animal health, with a focus on the consequences of anthropogenic modification of the night-time environment for non-human organisms. Lastly, we stress the need for the integration of field and lab experiments as well as the need for long-term integrative eco-physiological studies in the rapidly expanding field of light pollution.
Keywords: Human Health; Alan; Glucocorticoid; Hormones; Light pollution; Melatonin; Metabolism; Sleep; Stress; Thyroid; Urban ecology
|