Annual variations in animal's physiological functions are an essential strategy to deal with seasonal challenges which also vary according to the time of year. Information regarding annual ...adaptations in the immune-competence to cope with seasonal stressors in reptiles is scarce. The present research plan was designed to analyze the presence of circannual immune rhythms in defense responses of the leucocytes in an ophidian, Natrix piscator. Peripheral blood leucocytes were obtained, counted, and superoxide anion production, neutrophil phagocytosis, and nitrite release were tested to assess the innate immune functions. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were separated by centrifugation (utilizing density gradient) and the cell proliferation was measured. The Cosinor rhythmometry disclosed the presence of significant annual rhythms in the number of leucocytes, superoxide anion production, nitric oxide production, and proliferation of stimulated lymphocytes. The authors found that respiratory burst activity and proliferative responses of lymphocytes were crucial immune responses that showed the annual rhythm. It was summarized that the immune function of the N. piscator is a labile attribute that makes the animal competent to cope with the seasonal stressor by adjustment in the potency of response.
Cattle are cosmopolitan in distribution. They are economically and ecologically significant. The cattle menace on the urban streets of developing and underdeveloped countries is challenging. The ...number of road accidents is increasing rapidly over time, in the urban areas of most of the developing countries, like India. In the present study, we estimated the population of cattle wandering on the streets/roads/highways of Raipur city of India using the direct headcount method and advanced Photographic Capture-Recapture Method (PCRCM). We compared these two methods of population estimation to check their suitability and adequacy. We superimposed 163 grids (1.0 x 1.0 km each) on the map of Raipur city using Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software. We randomly selected 20 grids for the estimation of the street cattle population. We used both line transect and block count sampling techniques under the direct headcount method. The estimates of visibly roaming cattle on the Raipur city streets were 11808.45 and 11198.30 using the former and the latter sampling techniques, respectively. Further, advanced PCRCM indicated an estimated 35149.61 and 34623.20 cattle using the line transect and block counting sampling techniques, respectively. We observed a female-biased sex ratio in both mature and immature cattle. The frequency of mature cattle was significantly higher than that of naive cattle, followed by the calf. Further, we noticed the frequency of cattle in a grid in the following order: cow > bull > heifer > immature male > female calf > male calf. We concluded that the estimated population of street cattle in Raipur city is about 35 thousand. The results of both the techniques, i.e., direct headcount method and PCRCM, are consistent for population estimation. The direct headcount method yields the number of cattle visibly roaming on the street at a particular time. In contrast, advanced PCRCM gives the total population of street cattle in the city. Active surveillance of the urban cattle population might be of critical importance for municipal and city planners. A better understanding of the urban cattle population might help mitigate the cattle menace on the street, eventually preventing cattle-human conflict and minimizing road accidents. The techniques adopted in this study will also help estimate the population of free-ranging dogs and other wildlife animals in any target location.
The disruption of the circadian timing system (CTS), which rhythmically controls cellular metabolism and proliferation, accelerated experimental cancer progression. A measure of CTS function in ...cancer patients could thus provide novel prediction information for outcomes, and help to identify novel specific therapies. The rest-activity circadian rhythm is a reliable and non-invasive CTS biomarker, which was monitored using a wrist watch accelerometer for 2 days in 436 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. The relative percentage of activity in-bed versus out-of-bed (I < O) constituted the tested CTS measure, whose prognostic value for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) was determined in a pooled analysis of three patient cohorts with different treatment exposures. Median OS was 21.6 months 17.8-25.5 for patients with I < O above the median value of 97.5% as compared to 11.9 months 10.4-13.3 for those with a lower I < O (Log-rank p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses retained continuous I < O as a joint predictor of both OS and PFS, with respective hazard ratios (HR) of 0.954 (p < 0.001) and 0.970 (p < 0.001) for each 1% increase in I < O. HRs had similar values in all the patient subgroups tested. The circadian physiology biomarker I < O constitutes a robust and independent quantitative predictor of cancer patient outcomes, that can be easily and cost-effectively measured during daily living. Interventional studies involving 24-h schedules of clock-targeted drugs, light intensity, exercise and/or meals are needed for testing the relevance of circadian synchronization for the survival of patients with disrupted rhythms.
Circadian rest-Activity Rhythm Disorders (CARDs) are common in patients with cancer, particularly in advanced disease. CARDs are associated with increased symptom burden, poorer quality of life, and ...shorter survival. Research and reporting practices lack standardization, and formal diagnostic criteria do not exist. This electronic Delphi (e-Delphi) study aimed to formulate international recommendations for the assessment and diagnosis of CARDs in patients with cancer.
An international e-Delphi was performed using an online platform (Welphi). Round 1 developed statements regarding circadian rest-activity rhythms, diagnostic criteria, and assessment techniques. Rounds 2 and 3 involved participants rating their level of agreement with the statements and providing comments until consensus (defined internally as 67%) and stability between rounds were achieved. Recommendations were then created and distributed to participants for comments before being finalized.
Sixteen participants from nine different clinical specialties and seven different countries, with 5-35 years of relevant research experience, were recruited, and thirteen participants completed all three rounds. Of the 164 generated statements, 66% achieved consensus, and responses were stable between the final two rounds.
The e-Delphi resulted in international recommendations for assessing and diagnosing CARDs in patients with cancer. These recommendations should ensure standardized research and reporting practices in future studies.
The current study was conducted to provide normative data on actigraphic dichotomy index (I < O) (the percentage of in bed activity counts that are less than the median of out of bed counts) in ...healthy population and to assess whether the I < O could be an effective index in discriminating the circadian motor activity of cancer patients from healthy controls. In this retrospective study, we recovered 408 actigraphic records from two databases: healthy controls (n = 182; 79 males; mean age 38.7 ± 12.6) and patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (n = 226; 149 males; mean age 58.4 ± 11.4). Beside the usual actigraphic sleep parameters (time in bed, sleep onset latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, and mean motor activity), we also computed the dichotomy index and number of actigraphic wake parameters, namely, diurnal motor activity, diurnal total sleep time, number of sleep episodes, and the mean duration of the longest diurnal sleep episode. Using the Youden index, we calculated the cut off value that performed the best for I < O and actigraphic wake parameters. Finally, we created Receiver Operator Characteristic curves to test the efficacy of each actigraphic parameter to discriminate cancer patient from healthy controls. Mean I < O was 99.5% (SD, 0.48%) in the healthy group, as compared to 96.6% (SD, 3.6%) in the cancer group (p < 0.0001). Important age-related effects appeared unlikely after performing both the main analysis with age as a covariate, and a subset analysis in 104 subjects matched for age and sex. In the main analysis, all actigraphic parameters, except total sleep time, significantly differentiated the two groups of participants. However, the I < O was the one that clearly performed best. Here, we provide the first large dataset on I < O in healthy subjects, we confirm the relevance of this circadian index for discriminating advanced stage colorectal cancer patients from healthy subjects, and we lay the grounds for further investigations of this circadian index in patients with other chronic diseases.
Chemotherapy and its associated side effects can induce the disruption of circadian rest-activity rhythm and may have negative consequences on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cancer ...patients. In the current study, repeated-measures cross-sectional design was implemented to determine the status of circadian rest-activity rhythm and to assess the HRQoL of newly diagnosed female breast cancer patients those were planned to receive six cycles of chemotherapy. Rest activity and HRQoL were assessed in twenty-five patients during chemotherapy cycles 1st (C1), 3rd (C3), and 6th (C6) immediately after they reported to the outdoor ward of the Regional Cancer Center, Pt. J.N.M. Medical College, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Raipur, India. Wrist actigraphs for consecutive spans of 3-4 days were used to record the rest-activity rhythm, and its parameters were computed with the help of Cosinor Rhythmometry. Quality of life (QoL) parameters were assessed using EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23. Results revealed that average scores of all rhythm parameters, such as MESOR, amplitude, acrophase, rhythm quotient, circadian quotient, peak activity, dichotomy index, and autocorrelation coefficient; and all functional scales of QLQ-C30, such as physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social, and global quality of life statistically significantly decreased with the increasing number of chemotherapy cycles (C1 to C3 and C6). Scores of symptom scales of QLQ-C30, such as fatigue, pain, dyspnoea, insomnia, appetite loss, and diarrhea increased significantly from C1 to C6. Among the QLQ-BR23 scales, scores of sexual functioning, sexual enjoyment, breast symptoms, and arm symptoms significantly decreased, whereas scores of systemic therapy side effects, and upset by hair loss significantly increased across the chemotherapy cycles. We conclude that rest-activity rhythm disrupted and HRQoL of breast cancer patients worsened along the increasing number of chemotherapy cycles. We suggest that along with the treatment protocol, level of disruption of these parameters should be assessed and managed with the proper interventions that prominently include timing of the chemotherapy administration. The latter is pivotal for maintenance of these parameters, which are likely to enhance the physiological ability of patients for better treatment responses and may improve the overall QoL and survival of the patients.
The information on the circadian characteristics of catfish in shoals is scanty. We examined the circadian locomotor activity rhythm of catfish Heteropneustes fossilis either singly housed (SS1) or ...in shoals of four (SS4) and six (SS6) under different light regimens. We carried out the study sequentially under LD
1
(12:12), constant darkness (DD), LD
2
, continuous light (LL), LD
3
, and DL (12:12). Each condition was for at least 10-12 consecutive days. We analyzed the time-series data by employing Cosinor rhythmometry to detect circadian rhythm characteristics in locomotor activity at a fixed time window with a τ = 24 h. Results indicated that singly housed or shoals exhibited statistically significant (p < .001) circadian rhythm in locomotor activity under LD conditions with a higher activity level during the dark phase. Further, we observed free-running rhythms in locomotor activity under DD and LL, irrespective of the shoal sizes. In phase inverse DL, both singly housed and shoals demonstrated higher activity in the dark phase. The two-way ANOVA results revealed a significant effect of the factor 'light regimen' on amplitude and acrophase; the factor 'shoal size' produced a statistically significant impact on the mesor only. Both shoals showed significantly higher mesor than singly housed fish. The circadian amplitude declined under constant conditions of DD and LL. The locomotor activity rhythm exhibited a free-running pattern with a τ
FR
greater than 24 h under both DD and LL conditions. We conclude that light is a more prominent factor for the entrainment of circadian activity in catfish H. fossilis. However, the extent of social aggregation (shoal size) has little or no effects on the characteristics of circadian locomotor activity rhythm in H. fossilis.
Temperature influences the survival, growth, and development of insects including the antlion. In the present study, we examined the 24-h rhythm in the pit-building behavior of the antlion larvae at ...three different temperature conditions, high (37°C), low (17°C), and room temperature (Control: 25.9 ± 0.2°C). We recorded pit-building activities by monitoring two variables: the Time Lag for the Initiation of Pit Reconstruction (TLIPR) after the demolition of the pit, and the Total Time for Pit Construction (TTPC). We monitored TLIPR and TTPC at four different time points with equidistant intervals (i.e. 08:00-10:00 h, 14:00-16:00 h, 20:00-22:00 h, and 02:00-04:00 h) each day over three consecutive days. We employed single Cosinor rhythmometry to evaluate the characteristics of 24-h rhythm in TLIPR and TTPC. We used one-way ANOVA to find out the effects of the temperature on TLIPR and TTPC. We detected a statistically significant 24-h rhythm in TLIPR at the group level, irrespective of the temperature conditions. 24-h rhythm in TTPC was abolished at high and low temperatures. Temperature significantly affected TLIPR and TTPC in general. It also significantly affected the mesor of the rhythms in both variables as well as the amplitude of TTPC. Finally, we noted that although high and low temperatures affected the pit-building behavior in general, the thermal conditions did not lead to a complete cessation of pit-building activities. The 24-h rhythmic pattern associated with TTPC is more susceptible to the effects of thermal regimes (17°C or 37°C) unlike that associated with TLIPR.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder. It occurs due to obstruction on the upper airway of respiration. This disorder can be either complete (apnea) or partial ...(hypopnea). Interruption in breathing results in the production of a snoring sound, which is one of the prominent symptoms of OSA. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), hypertension, diabetes, etc. are some of the commonly occurring co-morbidities of OSA. OSA is common in the population of middle-aged and elderly people, but pediatric OSA is also eminent. The occurrence of the disease is higher in males. The increasing age, male gender, higher BMI, and comorbidities, such as metabolic syndrome, and obesity are considered as risk factors and make individuals more prone to OSA. The quality of life (Qol) of the individuals also gets affected by the OSA. It also alters the circadian rhythm of various autonomic and biochemical activities of people with OSA. Although polysomnography is considered the gold standard for the diagnosis of OSA, it is very costly and time-consuming. There are many portable monitoring devices and screening questionnaires for the diagnosis of OSA. Screening of OSA before polysomnography or portable monitoring is cost-effective, quick, and productive. In this review, we have highlighted scientific studies related to various factors associated with OSA in human subjects.
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