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1. The increasing illumination of our world by artificial light at night (ALAN) has created a new field of global change research with impacts now being demonstrated across taxa, biological ranks and spatial scales. Following advances in terrestrial ecology, marine ALAN has become a rapidly growing research area attracting scientists from across all biomes. Technological limitations, complexities of researching many coastal and marine ecosystems and the interdisciplinary nature of ALAN research present numerous challenges. 2. Drawing on expertise from optical oceanographers, modellers, community ecologists, experimental and molecular biologists, we share practical advice and solutions that have proven useful for marine ALAN research. Discussing lessons learnt early on can help in the effective and efficient development of a field. 3. The guide follows a sensory ecology approach to marine light pollution and consolidates physics, ecology and biology. First, we introduce marine lightscapes highlighting how these differ from terrestrial ones and provide an overview of biological adaptations to them. Second, we discuss study design and technology to best quantify ALAN exposure of and impacts on marine and coastal organisms including molecular tools and approaches to scale-up marine ALAN research. 4. We conclude that the growing field of marine ALAN research presents opportunities not only for improving our understanding of this globally widespread stressor, but also for advancing fundamental marine photobiology, chronobiology and night-time ecology. Interdisciplinary research will be essential to gain insights into natural marine lightscapes shaping the ecology and evolution coastal and marine ecosystems.

OBJECTIVES: Bipolar disorder (BD) with early disease onset is associated with an unfavorable clinical outcome and constitutes a clinically and biologically homogenous subgroup within the heterogeneous BD spectrum. Previous studies have found an accumulation of early age at onset (AAO) in BD families and have therefore hypothesized that there is a larger genetic contribution to the early-onset cases than to late onset BD. To investigate the genetic background of this subphenotype, we evaluated whether an increased polygenic burden of BD- and schizophrenia (SCZ)-associated risk variants is associated with an earlier AAO in BD patients. METHODS: A total of 1995 BD type 1 patients from the Consortium of Lithium Genetics (ConLiGen), PsyCourse and Bonn-Mannheim samples were genotyped and their BD and SCZ polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were calculated using the summary statistics of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium as a training data set. AAO was either separated into onset groups of clinical interest (childhood and adolescence [≤18 years] vs adulthood [>18 years]) or considered as a continuous measure. The associations between BD- and SCZ-PRSs and AAO were evaluated with regression models. RESULTS: BD- and SCZ-PRSs were not significantly associated with age at disease onset. Results remained the same when analyses were stratified by site of recruitment. CONCLUSIONS: The current study is the largest conducted so far to investigate the association between the cumulative BD and SCZ polygenic risk and AAO in BD patients. The reported negative results suggest that such a polygenic influence, if there is any, is not large, and highlight the importance of conducting further, larger scale studies to obtain more information on the genetic architecture of this clinically relevant phenotype. peerReviewed

To measure performance by eligible health care providers on CMS's meaningful use measures.Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program Eligible Professionals Public Use File (PUF), which contains data on meaningful use attestations by 237,267 eligible providers through May 31, 2013.Cross-sectional analysis of the 15 core and 10 menu measures pertaining to use of EHR functions reported in the PUF.Providers in the dataset performed strongly on all core measures, with the most frequent response for each of the 15 measures being 90-100 percent compliance, even when the threshold for a particular measure was lower (e.g., 30 percent). PCPs had higher scores than specialists for computerized order entry, maintaining an active medication list, and documenting vital signs, while specialists had higher scores for maintaining a problem list, recording patient demographics and smoking status, and for providing patients with an after-visit summary. In fact, 90.2 percent of eligible providers claimed at least one exclusion, and half claimed two or more.Providers are successfully attesting to CMS's requirements, and often exceeding the thresholds required by CMS; however, some troubling patterns in exclusions are present. CMS should raise program requirements in future years.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a degenerative muscle disorder characterized by the lack of dystrophin expression at the sarcolemma of muscle fibers. In addition, DMD patients acquire osteopenia, fragility fractures, and scoliosis indicating that a deficiency in skeletal homeostasis coexists but little is known about the effects of DMD on bone and other connective tissues within the musculoskeletal system. Recent evidence has emerged implicating adult stem cell dysfunction in DMD myopathogenesis. Given the common mesenchymal origin of muscle and bone, we sought to investigate bone and other musculoskeletal tissues in a DMD mouse model. Here, we report that dystrophin-utrophin double knockout (dko) mice exhibit a spectrum of degenerative changes, outside skeletal muscle, in bone, articular cartilage, and intervertebral discs, in addition to reduced lifespan, muscle degeneration, spinal deformity, and cardiomyopathy previously reported. We also report these mice to have a reduced capacity for bone healing and exhibit spontaneous heterotopic ossification in the hind limb muscles. Therefore, we propose the dko mouse as a model for premature musculoskeletal aging and posit that a similar phenomenon may occur in patients with DMD.

Objective: The World Mental Health Version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (WMH-CIDI) DSM-IV bipolar disorder diagnostic algorithms were recalibrated in about 2006 following evidence of over-diagnosis of bipolar I disorder. There have been no reports of the impact of this recalibration on epidemiological findings. Method: Data were taken from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Findings for cases identified by the recalibrated bipolar disorder definition were contrasted against those identified by the un-recalibrated definition. Results: The 12-month prevalence of recalibrated bipolar disorder and un-recalibrated bipolar disorder were 0.9% and 1.7% respectively. The un-recalibrated bipolar disorder group was younger and more likely to have never married than the recalibrated bipolar disorder group. They were also more likely to have a comorbid alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder and asthma or arthritis. While they were more likely to have at least severe interference in at least one of the Sheehan Scale domains of functioning, they were less likely to have made a suicide attempt. Similarly, they were less likely to have consulted a psychiatrist. Conclusion: It is not possible to be certain about the nature of these differences. Some may be artifactual (reflecting greater statistical power to detect differences with the larger un-recalibrated bipolar disorder defined sample), while others may be indicative of the inclusion of a clinically distinct subpopulation with the un-recalibrated bipolar disorder definition, thereby producing a more heterogeneous sample. These findings indicate the need for clarity in the diagnostic algorithm used in epidemiological reports on bipolar disorder using the World Mental Health Version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Language: en

Ehnvall A, Mitchell PB, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Loo C, Breakspear M, Wright A, Roberts G, Frankland A, Corry J. Pain and rejection sensitivity in bipolar depression. Bipolar Disord 2011: 13: 59–66. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives: Little is known regarding the correlates of pain in bipolar disorder. Recent neuroimaging studies support the contention that depression, as well as pain distress and rejection distress, share the same neurobiological circuits. In a recently published study, we confirmed the hypothesis that perception of increased pain during treatment-refractory depression, predominantly unipolar, was related to increased rejection sensitivity. In the present study, we aimed to test this same hypothesis for bipolar depression. Methods: The present study analysed data from 67 patients presenting to the Black Dog Institute Bipolar Disorders Clinic in Sydney, Australia. The patients all met DSM-IV criteria for bipolar disorder and had completed a self-report questionnaire regarding perceived pain and rejection sensitivity during depression. Results: A significant increase in the experience of headaches (p = 0.003) as well as chest pain (p = 0.004) during bipolar depression was predicted by a major increase in rejection sensitivity when depressed, i.e., state rejection sensitivity. Being rejection sensitive in general, i.e., trait rejection sensitivity, did not predict pain during depression. Conclusions: The experience of increased headaches and chest pain during bipolar depression is related to increased rejection sensitivity during depression. Research to further elucidate this relationship is required.

Glycoarrays on gold: A designer gold surface incorporating a self-assembled monolayer with weak protein absorption properties has been optimised for rapid display and interrogation of both native and derivatised glycans in array formats. This rapid, facile approach has diverse applications in glycomics, through exploitation of fluorescence, SPR and MALDI-ToF MS detection methods.

Singlet oxygen (1O2) is generated by a number of enzymes as well as by UV or visible light in the presence of a sensitizer and has been proposed as a damaging agent in a number of pathologies including cataract, sunburn, and skin cancers. Proteins, and Cys, Met, Trp, Tyr and His side chains in particular, are major targets for 1O2 as a result of their abundance and high rate constants for reaction. In this study it is shown that long-lived peroxides are formed on free Tyr, Tyr residues in peptides and proteins, and model compounds on exposure to 1O2 generated by both photochemical and chemical methods. The yield of these species is significantly enhanced in D2O and decreased by azide. Nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectroscopic analysis of reaction mixtures, or materials separated by high-performance liquid chromatography, are consistent with the initial formation of an (undetected) endoperoxide that undergoes rapid ring-opening to give a hydroperoxide situated at the C1 ring-position (i.e. para to the phenolic group). In the presence of a free alpha-amino group (e.g. with free Tyr), rapid ring-closure occurs to give an indolic hydroperoxide that decays into the corresponding alcohol, 3a-hydroxy-6-oxo-2,3,3a,6,7,7a-hexahydro-1H-indole-2-carboxylic acid. Hydroperoxides that lack a free alpha-amino group (e.g. those formed on 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid, N-Ac-Tyr and Tyr-containing peptides) are longer-lived, with half-lives of hours to days. These species undergo slow decay at low temperatures to give the corresponding alcohol. Their rate of decay is enhanced at 37 degrees C, or on exposure to UV light or metal ions, and gives rise to reactive radicals, via cleavage of the peroxide bond. These radicals have been characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance spin trapping. These studies demonstrate that long-lived Tyr-derived peroxides are formed on proteins exposed to 1O2 and that these may promote damage to other targets via further radical generation.