Measuring and using light in the melanopsin age Lucas, Robert J; Peirson, Stuart N; Berson, David M ...
Trends in neurosciences (Regular ed.),
01/2014, Letnik:
37, Številka:
1
Journal Article
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Highlights • Photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) regulate behavior and physiology. • ipRGCs use melanopsin-dependent intrinsic light responses and rod/cone inputs. • The relative ...contribution of each photoreceptor to evoked responses is not fully understood. • A method for quantifying light is presented that accounts for complex photoreceptive inputs. • Guidance for those designing architectural and therapeutic lighting is provided.
Speech and music are two fundamental modes of human communication. Lateralisation of key processes underlying their perception has been related both to the distinct sensitivity to low-level ...spectrotemporal acoustic features and to top-down attention. However, the interplay between bottom-up and top-down processes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of acoustics and attention to melodies or sentences to lateralisation in fMRI functional network topology. We used sung speech stimuli selectively filtered in temporal or spectral modulation domains with crossed and balanced verbal and melodic content. Perception of speech decreased with degradation of temporal information, whereas perception of melodies decreased with spectral degradation. Applying graph theoretical metrics on fMRI connectivity matrices, we found that local clustering, reflecting functional specialisation, linearly increased when spectral or temporal cues crucial for the task goal were incrementally degraded. These effects occurred in a bilateral fronto-temporo-parietal network for processing temporally degraded sentences and in right auditory regions for processing spectrally degraded melodies. In contrast, global topology remained stable across conditions. These findings suggest that lateralisation for speech and music partially depends on an interplay of acoustic cues and task goals under increased attentional demands.
Seagrass meadows, key ecosystems supporting fisheries, carbon sequestration and coastal protection, are globally threatened. In Europe, loss and recovery of seagrasses are reported, but the changes ...in extent and density at the continental scale remain unclear. Here we collate assessments of changes from 1869 to 2016 and show that 1/3 of European seagrass area was lost due to disease, deteriorated water quality, and coastal development, with losses peaking in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, loss rates slowed down for most of the species and fast-growing species recovered in some locations, making the net rate of change in seagrass area experience a reversal in the 2000s, while density metrics improved or remained stable in most sites. Our results demonstrate that decline is not the generalised state among seagrasses nowadays in Europe, in contrast with global assessments, and that deceleration and reversal of declining trends is possible, expectingly bringing back the services they provide.
In mammals, a small number of retinal ganglion cells express melanopsin, an opsin photopigment, allowing them to be directly photoreceptive. A major function of these so-called intrinsically ...photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) is to synchronize (entrain) endogenous circadian clocks to the external light:dark cycle. Thanks to their intrinsic light response, ipRGCs can support photoentrainment even when the other retinal photoreceptors (rods and cones) are absent or inactive. However, in the intact retina the ipRGC light response is a composite of extrinsic (rod/cone) and intrinsic (melanopsin) influences. As a result all three photoreceptor classes contribute to the retinal pathways providing light information to the clock. Here, we consider what each photoreceptor type contributes to the clock light response. We review electrophysiological and behavioral data pertinent to this question, primarily from laboratory rodents, drawing them together to provide a conceptual model in which each photoreceptor class plays a distinct role in encoding the light environment. We finally use this model to highlight some of the important outstanding questions in this field.
Carbenes are known to activate carbon dioxide to form zwitterionic adducts. Their inherent metal‐free redox activity remains understudied. Herein, we demonstrate that zwitterionic adducts of carbon ...dioxide formed with cyclic(alkyl)(amino) carbenes are not only redox active, but they can mediate the stoichiometric reductive disproportionation of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and carbonate. Infrared spectroelectrochemical experiments show that the reaction proceeds through an intermediate radical anion formed by one‐electron reduction, ultimately generating a ketene product and carbonate in the absence of additional organic or inorganic reagents.
Caught in the middle: Carbenes activate carbon dioxide to form zwitterionic adducts. The zwitterionic adducts of carbon dioxide formed with cyclic(alkyl)(amino) carbenes (CAACs) are not only redox active, but they can mediate the stoichiometric reductive disproportionation of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide and carbonate (see scheme).
Summary Background Incisional hernia is a frequent long-term complication after abdominal surgery, with a prevalence greater than 30% in high-risk groups. The aim of the PRIMA trial was to evaluate ...the effectiveness of mesh reinforcement in high-risk patients, to prevent incisional hernia. Methods We did a multicentre, double-blind, randomised controlled trial at 11 hospitals in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. We included patients aged 18 years or older who were undergoing elective midline laparotomy and had either an abdominal aortic aneurysm or a body-mass index (BMI) of 27 kg/m2 or higher. We randomly assigned participants using a computer-generated randomisation sequence to one of three treatment groups: primary suture; onlay mesh reinforcement; or sublay mesh reinforcement. The primary endpoint was incidence of incisional hernia during 2 years of follow-up, analysed by intention to treat. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by logistic regression. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00761475. Findings Between March, 2009, and December, 2012, 498 patients were enrolled to the study, of whom 18 were excluded before randomisation. Therefore, we included 480 patients in the primary analysis: 107 were assigned primary suture only, 188 were allocated onlay mesh reinforcement, and 185 were assigned sublay mesh reinforcement. 92 patients were identified with an incisional hernia, 33 (30%) who were allocated primary suture only, 25 (13%) who were assigned onlay mesh reinforcement, and 34 (18%) who were assigned sublay mesh reinforcement (onlay mesh reinforcement vs primary suture, OR 0·37, 95% CI 0·20–0·69; p=0·0016; sublay mesh reinforcement vs primary suture, 0·55, 0·30–1·00; p=0·05). Seromas were more frequent in patients allocated onlay mesh reinforcement (34 of 188) than in those assigned primary suture (five of 107; p=0·002) or sublay mesh reinforcement (13 of 185; p=0·002). The incidence of wound infection did not differ between treatment groups (14 of 107 primary suture; 25 of 188 onlay mesh reinforcement; and 19 of 185 sublay mesh reinforcement). Interpretation A significant reduction in incidence of incisional hernia was achieved with onlay mesh reinforcement compared with sublay mesh reinforcement and primary suture only. Onlay mesh reinforcement has the potential to become the standard treatment for high-risk patients undergoing midline laparotomy. Funding Baxter; B Braun Surgical SA.
Exposure to light has short- and long-term impacts on non-visual responses in humans. While many aspects related to non-visual light sensitivity have been characterised (such as the action spectrum ...for melatonin suppression), much remains to be elucidated. Here, we provide a set of minimum reporting guidelines for reporting the stimulus conditions involving light as an intervention in chronobiology, sleep research and environmental psychology experiments. Corresponding to the current state-of-the-art knowledge (June 2019), these are (
) measure and report the spectral power distribution of the acute stimulus from the observer's point of view; (
) measure and report the spectral power distribution of the background light environment from the observer's point of view; (
), make spectra available in tabulated form, (
) report
-opic (ir)radiances and illuminance; (
) describe the timing properties of stimulus (duration and pattern); (
) describe the spatial properties of stimulus (spatial arrangement and extent), and (
) report measurement conditions and equipment. We supplement the minimum reporting guidelines with optional reporting suggestions and discuss limitations of the reporting scheme.
Metastasis is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths. Although The Cancer Genome Atlas has sequenced primary tumour types obtained from surgical resections, much less comprehensive molecular ...analysis is available from clinically acquired metastatic cancers. Here we perform whole-exome and -transcriptome sequencing of 500 adult patients with metastatic solid tumours of diverse lineage and biopsy site. The most prevalent genes somatically altered in metastatic cancer included TP53, CDKN2A, PTEN, PIK3CA, and RB1. Putative pathogenic germline variants were present in 12.2% of cases of which 75% were related to defects in DNA repair. RNA sequencing complemented DNA sequencing to identify gene fusions, pathway activation, and immune profiling. Our results show that integrative sequence analysis provides a clinically relevant, multi-dimensional view of the complex molecular landscape and microenvironment of metastatic cancers.
Systemic magnesium has been used to minimize postoperative pain with conflicting results by clinical studies. It remains unknown whether the administration of perioperative systemic magnesium can ...minimize postoperative pain. The objective of the current investigation was to evaluate the effect of systemic magnesium on postoperative pain outcomes.
A wide search was performed to identify randomized controlled trials that evaluated the effects of systemic magnesium on postoperative pain outcomes in surgical procedures performed under general anesthesia. Meta-analysis was performed using a random-effect model. Publication bias was evaluated by examining the presence of asymmetric funnel plots using Egger regression.
Twenty randomized clinical trials with 1,257 subjects were included. The weighted mean difference (99% CI) of the combined effects favored magnesium over control for pain at rest (≤4 h, -0.74 -1.08 to -0.48; 24 h, -0.36 -0.63 to -0.09) and with movement at 24 h, -0.73 (-1.37 to -0.1). Opioid consumption was largely decreased in the systemic magnesium group compared with control, weighted mean difference (99% CI) of -10.52 (-13.50 to -7.54) mg morphine IV equivalents. Publication bias was not present in any of the analysis. Significant heterogeneity was present in some analysis, but it could be partially explained by the sole intraoperative administration of magnesium compared with the intraoperative and postoperative administration. None of the studies reported clinical toxicity related to toxic serum levels of magnesium.
Systemic administration of perioperative magnesium reduces postoperative pain and opioid consumption. Magnesium administration should be considered as a strategy to mitigate postoperative pain in surgical patients.
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