The foraging behavior of gerbils reveals the ecological significance of crude oil pollution.

Despite extensive ecotoxicological evidence on the adverse effects of oil pollution on rodents, little is known about how rodents make decisions in oil-polluted environments (i.e., outside of lab settings).

Crosslinking of Ly6a metabolically reprograms CD8 T cells for cancer immunotherapy.

T cell inhibitory mechanisms prevent autoimmune reactions, while cancer immunotherapy aims to remove these inhibitory signals. Chronic ultraviolet (UV) exposure attenuates autoimmunity through promotion of poorly understood immune-suppressive mechanisms. Here we show that mice with subcutaneous melanoma are not responsive to anti-PD1 immunotherapy following chronic UV irradiation, given prior to tumor injection, due to the suppression of T cell killing ability in skin-draining lymph nodes.

Exercise Reduces Glucose Intolerance, Cardiac Inflammation and Adipose Tissue Dysfunction in Exposed to Short Photoperiod and High Energy Diet.

Circadian disruption causes glucose intolerance, cardiac fibrosis, and adipocyte dysfunction in sand rats (). Exercise intervention can improve glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, adipose tissue function and protect against inflammation. We investigated the influence of exercise on male exposed to a short photoperiod (5 h light:19 h dark) and high-energy diet.

Female Are Protected from Circadian Disruption-Induced Glucose Intolerance, Cardiac Fibrosis and Adipocyte Dysfunction.

Circadian disruption increases the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. We found that circadian disruption causes glucose intolerance, cardiac fibrosis and adipocyte tissue dysfunction in male sand rats, . Whether these effects occur in female is unknown.

The circadian syndrome is a predictor for cognition impairment in middle-aged adults: Comparison with the metabolic syndrome.

Aims: Circadian syndrome (CircS) is considered a better predictor for cardiovascular disease than the metabolic syndrome (MetS). We aim to examine the associations between CircS and MetS with cognition in Chinese adults.

Method: We used the data of 8546 Chinese adults aged ≥40 years from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

Effects of photoperiod and food on glucose intolerance and subsequent ocular pathology in the fat sand rat.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its ocular complications, such as cataract and diabetic retinopathy (DR) have been linked to circadian rhythm-disturbances. Using a unique diurnal animal model, the sand rat (Psammomys obesus) we examined the effect of circadian disruption by short photoperiod acclimation on the development of T2DM and related ocular pathologies. We experimented with 48 male sand rats.

Salivary cortisol concentration and perceived stress measure in response to acute natural stress: The role of morningness-eveningness preference.

Chronotype reflects the morningness-eveningness preference over a 24-h period. Significant data indicates meaningful differences between evening types (ET) and morning types (MT) in behavior, personality traits, health and well-being. The aim of this study was to investigate cortisol response and subjective perceived stress of MT and ET individuals in response to an acute natural stressor.

Real-time sensing of war's effects on wellbeing with smartphones and smartwatches.

Background: Modern wars have a catastrophic effect on the wellbeing of civilians. However, the nature of this effect remains unclear, with most insights gleaned from subjective, retrospective studies.

Methods: We prospectively monitored 954 Israelis (>40 years) from two weeks before the May 2021 Israel-Gaza war until four weeks after the ceasefire using smartwatches and a dedicated mobile application with daily questionnaires on wellbeing.

Changes in menstrual cycle length and in sleep-wake behaviors during COVID-19 related lockdown in Israel.

COVID-19 related lockdowns changed our life. Studies report that young women are more susceptible to lockdown-induced adverse effects and stress. As stress and menstrual cycle are associated, we hypothesized that menstrual cycle length might change during lockdown.

The Circadian Syndrome Is a Significant and Stronger Predictor for Cardiovascular Disease than the Metabolic Syndrome-The NHANES Survey during 2005-2016.

The study aimed to compare the predictive value of the Circadian Syndrome (CircS) and Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We used data of 12,156 adults aged ≥20 years who attended National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2005-2016. Mortality was obtained from the registry updated to 2019.

Fitness consequences of chronic exposure to different light pollution wavelengths in nocturnal and diurnal rodents.

Use of artificial at night (ALAN) exposes the world to continuously increasing levels and distribution of light pollution. Our understanding of the adverse effects of ALAN is based mostly on observational or laboratory studies, and its effects are probably underestimated. Demonstration of direct experimental fitness consequences of ALAN on mammals is missing.

Circadian rhythms-related disorders in diurnal fat sand rats under modern lifestyle conditions: A review.

Modern lifestyle reduces environmental rhythmicity and may lead to circadian desynchrony. We are exposed to poor day-time lighting indoors and excessive night-time artificial light. We use air-conditioning to reduce ambient temperature cycle, and food is regularly available at all times.

Beneficial effects of voluntary wheel running on activity rhythms, metabolic state, and affect in a diurnal model of circadian disruption.

Emerging evidence suggests that disruption of circadian rhythmicity contributes to development of comorbid depression, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Physical exercise synchronizes the circadian system and has ameliorating effects on the depression- and anxiety-like phenotype induced by circadian disruption in mice and sand rats. We explored the beneficial effects of voluntary wheel running on daily rhythms, and the development of depression, T2DM, and CVD in a diurnal animal model, the fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus).

Changes in sleep patterns of college students in Israel during COVID-19 lockdown, a sleep diaries study.

To prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19, governments around the world apply social restrictions and lockdowns. Such lockdowns significantly alter daily routine and habits. A growing body of research indicates that lockdowns affect sleep and circadian rhythms.

Conserved ecophysiology despite disparate microclimatic conditions in a gecko.

Microscale differences in the habitats organisms occupy can influence selection regimes and promote intraspecific variation of traits. Temperature-dependent traits can be locally adapted to climatic conditions or be highly conserved and insensitive to directional selection under all but the most extreme regimes, and thus be similar across populations. The opposing slopes of Nahal Oren canyon in the Carmel Mountains, Israel, are strikingly different: the south-facing slope receives intensive solar radiation, is hot and supports mostly annual vegetation, whereas the north-facing slope is ~10°C cooler, more humid, and supports Mediterranean woodland.

Effects of photoperiod and diet on BDNF daily rhythms in diurnal sand rats.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), its receptors and epigenetic modulators, are implicated in the pathophysiology of affective disorders, T2DM and the circadian system function. We used diurnal sand rats, which develop type 2 diabetes (T2DM), anxiety and depressive-like behavior under laboratory conditions. The development of these disorders is accelerated when animals are maintained under short photoperiod (5:19L:D, SP) compared to neutral photoperiod (12:12L:D, NP).

Sex differences in the response to circadian disruption in diurnal sand rats.

Most animal model studies on physiological functions and pathologies are conducted in males. However, diseases such as depression, type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease, all show different prevalence and characteristics in females and males. Moreover, most mammal studies are conducted in nocturnal mice and rats, while modelling diurnal humans.

Skin exposure to UVB light induces a skin-brain-gonad axis and sexual behavior.

Ultraviolet (UV) light affects endocrinological and behavioral aspects of sexuality via an unknown mechanism. Here we discover that ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure enhances the levels of sex-steroid hormones and sexual behavior, which are mediated by the skin. In female mice, UVB exposure increases hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis hormone levels, resulting in larger ovaries; extends estrus days; and increases anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) expression.

Differential response of diurnal and nocturnal mammals to prolonged altered light-dark cycle: a possible role of mood associated endocrine, inflammatory and antioxidant system.

The circadian system maintains internal 24 h oscillation of behavior and physiology, and its misalignment with external light-dark (LD) cycle results in negative health outcomes. In order to elucidate the effect of prolonged constant condition and the differences in the response between nocturnal and diurnal species, we studied the effects of constant light (LL) and constant darkness (DD) on a diurnal (squirrel) and a nocturnal (mouse) rodent species, focusing on the endocrine, inflammatory and antioxidant systems associated with depression-like behavior. Squirrels and mice (n = 10/group) were placed in chronocubicle under 12:12 h LD cycle, LL and DD.

Differential effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on well-being: interaction between age, gender and chronotype.

The unprecedented restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic altered our daily habits and severely affected our well-being and physiology. The effect of these changes is yet to be fully understood. Here, we analysed highly detailed data on 169 participants for two to six months, before and during the second COVID-19 lockdown in Israel.

Circadian disruption by short light exposure and a high energy diet impairs glucose tolerance and increases cardiac fibrosis in Psammomys obesus.

Unlabelled: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) increases cardiac inflammation which promotes the development of cardiac fibrosis. We sought to determine the impact of circadian disruption on the induction of hyperglycaemia, inflammation and cardiac fibrosis.

Methods: Psammomys obesus (P.

A rather dry subject; investigating the study of arid-associated microbial communities.

Almost one third of Earth's land surface is arid, with deserts alone covering more than 46 million square kilometres. Nearly 2.1 billion people inhabit deserts or drylands and these regions are also home to a great diversity of plant and animal species including many that are unique to them.

Beneficial effects of daytime high-intensity light exposure on daily rhythms, metabolic state and affect.

While the importance of the circadian system to health and well-being is extensively studied, the role of daylight exposure in these interactions is relatively poorly understood. Here we show, using a diurnal animal model naturally exposed to daylight, that daily morning exposure to 3000 lux, full spectrum electric light has beneficial health effects. Compared with controls, sand rats (Psammomys obesus) subjected to morning light treatment demonstrate daily rhythms with high peak to trough difference in activity, blood glucose levels and per2 gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, pre-frontal cortex, kidney and liver.

Wheel-running activity rhythms and masking responses in the diurnal palm squirrel, .

Several studies have reported activity patterns of various diurnal species from the order Rodentia, in which most of the species are nocturnal. Most of these studies have been performed under controlled laboratory conditions. These studies found that most of these species change their activity patterns when held under laboratory conditions, have a diverse masking response to light, and their activity pattern is influenced by the presence of a running wheel.