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Abbott, S. M., Malkani, R. G., & Zee, P. C. (2018). Circadian disruption and human health: A bidirectional relationship. Eur J Neurosci, in press.
Abstract: Circadian rhythm disorders have been classically associated with disorders of abnormal timing of the sleep-wake cycle, however circadian dysfunction can play a role in a wide range of pathology, ranging from the increased risk for cardiometabolic disease and malignancy in shift workers, prompting the need for a new field focused on the larger concept of circadian medicine. The relationship between circadian disruption and human health is bidirectional, with changes in circadian amplitude often preceding the classical symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders. As our understanding of the importance of circadian dysfunction in disease grows, we need to develop better clinical techniques for identifying circadian rhythms and also develop circadian based strategies for disease management. Overall this review highlights the need to bring the concept of time to all aspects of medicine, emphasizing circadian medicine as a prime example of both personalized and precision medicine.
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Aboushelib, M. F., Abozaid, A. A., Nawar, S., Hendy, Y. H. M., & Morcos, A. B. (2019). Preliminary site selection for an observatory in the Egyptian Eastern Desert. Astrophys Space Sci, 364(10), 163.
Abstract: This work aims for choosing preliminary sites that can be candidates for a new astronomical observatory that will replace the Kottamia observatory. The candidate sites have been selected to be investigated after proposing a few criteria. Concerning light pollution and elevation of the sites as the main factors, we chose the candidate sites depending on the zenith sky brightness and the elevation. The night sky brightness has been measured using a Sky Quality Meter at different altitude degrees and the values of the zenith sky brightness were compared to those of different observatory sites. Our night sky brightness observations were found to be in agreement with the satellite’s data and comparable to those of dark sites, with average values of 22.07, 22.03, 21.57 and 21.58 magSQM/arcsec2. We also have obtained the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and extinction coefficient due to the aerosol for the candidate sites using satellite data (Terra/MODIS).
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Ahmed, A. K., & Sadik, M. A. (2018). Study of sky brightness profiles of Baghdad and Karbala cities in Iraq. International Journal of Science and Nature, 9(1), 18–24.
Abstract: This study was used two detectors only i.e., the human eye and photometer of Sky Quality Meter (SQM-LU) during the time of sunrise and sunset. The human eye used to determine the moon's phase. The measurements of sky brightness, by using SQM-LU, performed via two locations that covered Baghdad and Karbala in Iraq from December 2016 through March 2017 intermittently. The research focused only on light perceived by detectors and not how it happens. The aim of research is to find a mathematical formula (i.e . brightness contrast) between the sky brightness against the solar altitude by taking moon illumination as the standard reference. Analytical software based on the Python's PyEphem astrometry library was developed to calculate the solar altitude at the two locations. Finally, the formula of sky brightness obtained from this work is an important key that contributed to finding the simulated sky brightness, when the sun's altitude is known.
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Alessandro Manfrin, G. S., Stefano Larsen, Nadine Weiss, Roy H. A. van Grunsven, Nina-Sophie Weiss, Stefanie Wohlfahrt, Michael T. Monaghan and Franz Hölker. (2017). Artificial light at night affects organism flux across ecosystem boundaries and drives community structure in the recipient ecosystem. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 5(61).
Abstract: Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a widespread alteration of the natural environment that can affect the functioning of ecosystems. ALAN can change the movement patterns of freshwater animals that move into the adjacent riparian and terrestrial ecosystems, but the implications for local riparian consumers that rely on these subsidies are still unexplored. We conducted a two-year field experiment to quantify changes of freshwater-terrestrial linkages by installing streetlights in a previously light-native riparian area adjacent to an agricultural drainage ditch. We compared the abundance and community composition of emerging aquatic insects, flying insects, and ground-dwelling arthropods with an unlit control site. Comparisons were made within and between years using generalized least squares and a BACI design (Before-After Control-Impact). Aquatic insect emergence, the proportion of flying insects that were aquatic in origin, and the total abundance of flying insects all increased in the ALAN-illuminated area. The abundance of several night-active ground-dwelling predators (Pachygnatha clercki, Trochosa sp., Opiliones) increased under ALAN and their activity was extended into the day. Conversely, the abundance of nocturnal ground beetles (Carabidae) decreased under ALAN. The changes in composition of riparian predator and scavenger communities suggest that the increase in aquatic-to-terrestrial subsidy flux may cascade through the riparian food web. The work is among the first studies to experimentally manipulate ALAN using a large-scale field experiment, and provides evidence that ALAN can affect processes that link adjacent ecosystems. Given the large number of streetlights that are installed along shorelines of freshwater bodies throughout the globe, the effects could be widespread and represent an underestimated source of impairment for both aquatic and riparian systems.
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Amir, S., & Stewart, J. (1999). The effectiveness of light on the circadian clock is linked to its emotional value. Neuroscience, 88(2), 339–345.
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