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Baatrup, E., & Bayley, M. (1993). Quantitative analysis of spider locomotion employing computer-automated video tracking. Physiology & Behavior, 54(1), 83–90.
Abstract: The locomotor activity of adult specimens of the wolf spider Pardosa amentata was measured in an open-field setup, using computer-automated colour object video tracking. The x,y coordinates of the animal in the digitized image of the test arena were recorded three times per second during four consecutive 12-h periods, alternating between white and red (lambda > 600 nm) illumination. Male spiders were significantly more locomotor active than female spiders under both lighting conditions. They walked, on average, twice the distance of females, employed higher velocities, and spent less time in quiescence. Both male and female P. amentata were significantly less active in red light (simulated dark environment) than in white light. The results also revealed that P. amentata administers its walking velocity and periods of quiescence according to consistent distributions, which can be approximated by simple mathematical expressions. It was found that this species spends exponentially decreasing time at increasing velocities. The number of quiescent periods, however, follow a power decay distribution at increasing quiescent period duration.
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Babadi, S., Ramirez-Inguiez, R., Boutaleb, T., & Mallick, T. (2018). Producing uniform illumination within a rectangular area by using a nonimaging optic. Appl. Opt., 57(31), 9357.
Abstract: This paper proposes a new design method to create a novel optical element to generate uniform illumination within a rectangular area. Based on this model, an illuminated area is irradiated by two sets of rays; the first one irradiates the target plane after refraction from the top section of the lens, and the second one irradiates from the reflection at the side profile of the lens and then from refraction at the top part of the lens. The results show that a uniformity of over 90% can be achieved.
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Babaii, A., Adib-Hajbaghery, M., & Hajibagheri, A. (2015). Effect of Using Eye Mask on Sleep Quality in Cardiac Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nursing and Midwifery Studies, 4(4).
Abstract: BACKGROUND:
Patients in coronary care unit are at risk of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can be associated with increased blood pressure and heart rate, raising the risk of developing cardiovascular problems among patients hospitalized in coronary care unit.
OBJECTIVES:
This study was carried out to examine the effect of eye mask on sleep quality in cardiac patients.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
In this randomized controlled trial, 60 patients who met the inclusion criteria were selected using a convenient sampling method and randomly allocated into the experimental and control groups. Patients in the control group received routine care. However, in the experimental group, patients received routine care and eye mask for three subsequent nights. In the both groups, the sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index. Data were analyzed by the chi-square test, independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.
RESULTS:
After the study, the median scores of the subjective sleep quality, the sleep latency, the sleep duration, the habitual sleep efficiency, and the sleep disturbances domains, as well as the median score of overall Pittsburgh sleep quality index in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between the two groups in terms of the use of sleep medications and the daytime dysfunction domains (P > 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
Using eye mask can significantly improve the sleep quality in cardiac patients. Therefore, nurses are recommended to use eye mask in combination with current treatments for improving patients' sleep quality.
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Bach, S., usanne, & Degenring, F. (Eds.). (2015). Dark Nights, Bright Lights: Night, Darkness, and Illumination in Literature. Anglia Book Series, 50. De Gruyter.
Abstract: Light and darkness shape our perception of the world. This is true in a literal sense, but also metaphorically: in theology, philosophy, literature and the arts the light of day signifies life, safety, knowledge and all that is good, while the darkness of the night suggests death, danger, ignorance and evil.
A closer inspection, however, reveals that things are not quite so clear cut and that light and darkness cannot be understood as simple binary opposites. On a biological level, for example, daylight and darkness are inseparable factors in the calibration of our circadian rhythms, and a lack of periodical darkness appears to be as contrary to health as a lack of exposure to sunlight. On a cultural level, too, night and darkness are far from being universally condemnable: in fiction, drama and poetry the darkness of the night allows not only nightmares but also dreams, it allows criminals to ply their trade and allows lovers to meet, it allows the pursuit of pleasure as well as deep thought, it allows metamorphoses, transformations and transgressions unthinkable in the light of day. But night is not merely darkness. The night gains significance as an alternative space, as an ‘other of the day’, only when it is at least partially illuminated.
The volume examines the interconnection of night, darkness and nocturnal illumination across a broad range of literary texts. The individual essays examine historically specific light conditions in literature, tracing the symbolic and metaphoric content of darkness and illumination and the attitudes towards them.
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Bachleitner, W., Kempinger, L., Wülbeck, C., Rieger, D., & Helfrich-Förster, C. (2007). Moonlight shifts the endogenous clock of Drosophila melanogaster. PNAS, 104(9), 3538–3543.
Abstract: The ability to be synchronized by light–dark cycles is a fundamental property of circadian clocks. Although there are indications that circadian clocks are extremely light-sensitive and that they can be set by the low irradiances that occur at dawn and dusk, this has not been shown on the cellular level. Here, we demonstrate that a subset of Drosophila's pacemaker neurons responds to nocturnal dim light. At a nighttime illumination comparable to quarter-moonlight intensity, the flies increase activity levels and shift their typical morning and evening activity peaks into the night. In parallel, clock protein levels are reduced, and clock protein rhythms shift in opposed direction in subsets of the previously identified morning and evening pacemaker cells. No effect was observed on the peripheral clock in the eye. Our results demonstrate that the neurons driving rhythmic behavior are extremely light-sensitive and capable of shifting activity in response to the very low light intensities that regularly occur in nature. This sensitivity may be instrumental in adaptation to different photoperiods, as was proposed by the morning and evening oscillator model of Pittendrigh and Daan. We also show that this adaptation depends on retinal input but is independent of cryptochrome.
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