Association between light exposure at night and manic symptoms in bipolar disorder: cross-sectional analysis of the APPLE cohort

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have found that keeping the room dark at night was associated with a decrease in manic symptoms for patients with bipolar disorder (BD). However, the association between light at night of real-life conditions and manic symptoms is unclear. We investigated the association between bedroom light exposure at night and manic symptoms in BD patients. One-hundred and eighty-four outpatients with BD participated in this cross-sectional study. The average light intensity at night during sleep was evaluated using a portable photometer for seven consecutive nights. Manic symptoms were assessed using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), and scores ≥5 were treated as a “hypomanic state.” The median (interquartile range) YMRS score was 2.0 (0–5.0), and 52 (28.2%) participants were in a hypomanic state. The prevalence of a hypomanic state was significantly higher in the participants with an average light intensity at night exposure of ≥3 lux than in those with <3 lux (36.7% versus 21.9%; P = .02). In multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusted for BD type, depressive symptoms, sleep duration, and daytime physical activity, the odds ratio (OR) for a hypomanic state was significantly higher for the participants with an average light intensity at night exposure of ≥3 lux than for those with <3 lux (OR: 2.15, 95% confidence interval: 1.09–4.22, P = .02). This association remained significant at the cutoff value of YMRS score ≥6 (OR: 2.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.15–5.46; P = .02). The findings of this study indicate bedroom light exposure at night is significantly associated with manic symptoms in BD patients. Although the results of this cross-sectional investigation do not necessarily imply causality, they may serve to inform beneficial nonpharmacological intervention and personalized treatment of BD patients.     

Transformation of rat liver cell line by Rous sarcoma virus causes loss of cell surface fibronectin, accompanied with secretion of metallo-proteinase that preferentially digests the fibronectin

An epithelial cell line derived from the liver of a normal Buffalo rat (BRL) was transformed by Rous sarcoma virus (RSV). The RSV-transformed cells were separated into five clones (RSV-BRL1 through 5), which were morphologically different. RSV-BRL cells exhibited the following characteristics distinct from those of BRL cells: tumorigenicity, irregular cell arrangement, loose intercellular junction, growth in soft agar (anchorage-independent growth) except for RSV-BRL3 and 5, and loss of cell surface fibronectin. When BRL cells were cultured in the standard medium supplemented with the serum-free conditioned medium of RSV-BRL cells, the amount of the cell surface fibronectin decreased significantly. It was found that RSV-BRL cells secreted a proteinase capable of hydrolyzing the fibronectin, whereas BRL cells secreted hardly any of this proteinase. The fibronectin-hydrolyzing proteinase (FNase) could also hydrolyze plasma fibronectin added as an exogenous substrate. The hydrolysis of plasma fibronectin was inhibited by ethylenediamine tetraacetate, but stimulated by rho-chloromercuribenzoate and calcium ion. This indicates that FNase is a metallo-enzyme, but not a serine or thiol enzyme. In addition to the proteinase, RSV-BRL cells secreted plasminogen activator and a proteinase inhibitor which inhibited the activity of plasmin but not FNase.     

Freeze-fracture study of the lateral-line canal organ of the Japanese sea eel,Lincozymba nystromi

Summary Specializations of apical surfaces of hair cells, supporting cells and marginal cells in the lateral-line canal organ of Japanese sea eel, Lincozymba nystromi, were examined with a freeze-fracture technique. Apical surfaces of hair cells have a lower density of intramembrane particles (IMP) than those of the surrounding supporting cells. Density of IMP on the streocilia is almost the same as that on the apical surface of hair cells. Junctions between hair and supporting cells were tighter than those between two supporting cells; those between supporting and marginal cells were tighter than those between hair and supporting cells, and those between two marginal cells were the tightest in the lateral-line canal organ.     

Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity using a murine monoclonal antibody against human colorectal cancer in cancer patients

Summary Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) mediated by a murine monoclonal antibody against human colerectal carcinoma, antibody 19–9, with human effector cells was tested in 33 patients with various carcinomas, 16 patients with benign lesions, and 13 normal controls, using a 12-h ⁵¹Cr release assay using human colorectal cancer cells as targets. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) from these groups of patients and normal controls achieved moderate levels of target cell lysis in the presence of the monoclonal antibody at the high effector to target cell ratio of 200:1. The ADCC activity of PBM in cancer patients was significantly higher than that in either normal persons or patients with benign lesions. Since the ADCC was shown to be mainly mediated by adherent monocytes in the PBM, ADCC activity of monocytes from cancer patients was compared to those from control groups at an effector to target cell ratio of 30:1. The results also showed that the lytic capacity of monocytes was significantly higher in cancer patients than that in the control populations.     

Effect of UV-B (290–320 nm) irradiation on growth and metabolism of cucumber cotyledons

Cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L. cv. Natsusairaku 3) seedlings were grown in a growth cabinet under UV-B (290–320 nm) irradiation (equivalent to the UV-B radiation normally incident at Tokyo, 36°N latitude, during clear sky conditions in mid-april on a weighted daily fluence basis) and a UV-B-free control condition. UV-B irradiation inhibited the growth of the cotyledons, i.e. the increase in area, and increase in fresh and dry weights of the cotyledons. The greatest inhibition rate was observed in the increase in area, causing a significant increase in specific leaf weight (the ratio of weight to area). UV-B irradiation had no significant effect on DNA and RNA contents in the cotyledons, but decreased protein content slightly. In contrast, the irradiation reduced the amounts of organic acids and soluble sugars, indicating that primary carbon metabolism was very sensitive to UV-B radiation. UV-B irradiation lowered the photosynthetic activity in the cotyledons without any effect on chlorophyll content and respiratory activity. These results indicate that UV-B radiation at the ambient level may act as a physiological stress in some UV-sensitive plants.     

Selective growth of a mutant in continuous culture of Bacillus caldolyticus for production of α-amylase

Summary In a continuous culture of Bacillus caldolyticus strain SP, which requires maltose as an inducer for production of -amylase in batch culture, a predominant mutant strain M1 which produced high amounts of -amylase in the absence of maltose in batch culture, developed. The change of cell population from strain SP to strain M1 in maltose-casitone medium was linear with time in the transient state after the change from batch to continuous culture at a dilution rate of 0.17 h^-1, and was completed in about 11 generations of bacterial growth. The dilution rate effect of continuous culture on -amylase activity was almost the same with both strains SP and M1. The maximum -amylase activity of 380 units/ml was observed at an intermediate dilution rate that was 11.5 times higher than -amylase activity at the end of a batch culture using the same medium. It was deduced that the enhancement of -amylase production in continuous culture was attributed partly to the predominant growth of a mutant strain with higher -amylase productivity.     

Scale Arrangement Pattern in a Lepidopteran Wing. 1. Periodic Cellular Pattern in the Pupal Wing of Pieris rapae

In most species of lepidopteran insects, anteroposterior rows formed by scales are arranged at regular intervals in the adult wing; within each row two kinds of scales are alternately arranged. To investigate the cellular basis for the scale arrangement pattern, we examined cell arrangement in the epidermal monolayer of the pupal wing of a small white cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae , by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy.
The arrangement of scale precursor cells, closely resembling that of scales in the adult wing, was observed in the wing epidermis of the early pupa. Scale precursor cells are proximodistally elongated and form anteroposterior rows. Within a row two kinds of scale precursor cells are nearly alternately arranged, which is not so precise as the alternation of scales in the adult wing. Individual rows of scale precursor cells are separated by rows of single or double undifferentiated general epidermal cells. Occasionally, arrangement abnormalities occur both in the adult and the pupal wing. The cellular basis for the regular spacing of scale rows is discussed.     

Analysis of overall pathophysiological relationships between serum levels of TSH and thyroid hormones using a large laboratory database

Factors associated with the basal level of serum thyrotropin (TSH) were analyzed over a wide range of pathophysiological conditions by means of a large laboratory database on thyroid function. When data were analyzed two-dimensionally, serum TSH showed significant inverse correlations with total triiodothyronine (T3), free T3 index (FT3I), total thyroxin (TT4) and free T4 index (FT4I) in the order of increasing intensity. The three-dimensional analysis, however, revealed that 1) total hormone levels were actually unrelated to serum TSH when the levels of free hormone indices were held constant, 2) the relation between FT3I and TSH became obscure when the influence of FT4I was similarly removed. On the other hand, 3) the relation of FT4I with TSH was unaffected by the level of FT3I. These results suggest that free T4 is the main determinant of the serum TSH level. This study also implies that it is possible to use large amounts of laboratory data to elucidate the overall profile of a given patho-physiological system, whose structure is only partially revealed by conventional clinical or animal studies.