A comparison between the larval eyes of the dimly luminescent Keroplatus nipponicus and the brightly luminescent Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera; Keroplatidae).

Larvae of the weakly blue-luminescent fungus gnat Keroplatus nipponicus possess on either side of their heads a small black stemmatal eye with a plano-convex lens approximately 25 µm in diameter. In total, 12-14 retinula cells give rise to a centrally fused rhabdom of up to 8 µm in diameter. The rhabdom's constituent microvilli, approximately 70 nm in width, are roughly orthogonally oriented, a requirement for polarization sensitivity. Screening pigment granules are abundant in the retinula cells and measure at least 1 µm in diameter. In comparison with the stemmatal eye of the brightly luminescent Arachnocampa luminosa, that of K. nipponicus is considerably smaller with a poorer developed lens and a rhabdom that is less voluminous, but possesses wider microvilli. Although the larval eye of K. nipponicus can be expected to be functional, as the larvae react to light with a behavioural response, the eyes are probably mainly involved in the detection of ambient light levels and not, as in A. luminosa, also in responding to the luminescence of nearby conspecifics.

A perinatal signature of light on chronobiology? If so, numerous questions arise and experimental animal research must provide more information.

That light and melatonin rhythms provide both clock and calendar information in humans and numerous other species is beyond dispute; this holds true for all stages of life, including the very early ones. Experimental evidence elucidates that exposure to light and melatonin titres are keys for the very development of circadian and seasonal rhythms. As evinced by a 2011 publication in Nature Neuroscience such awareness could impact considerably on the design and conduct of experimental studies as well as their subsequent analyses, interpretations and comparisons. Therefore "when and how experimental animals were bred, developed and raised" may be critical when experimenting with animals generally, and not just rodents. As long as the suggested imprinting of circadian system stability via light cues is not falsified, the perinatal season or perinatal experimental light:dark [L:D] conditions that an animal was kept under should be routinely recorded, published and considered in analysing and interpreting study data.

A possible role of perinatal light in mood disorders and internal cancers: reconciliation of instability and latitude concepts.

Thought-provoking experimental evidence suggests that perinatal light exposure may imprint circadian clocks with lasting effects on the alignment and the stability of circadian rhythms later in life. Assuming that exposure to light early in life could determine the stability of an individual's circadian system later in life, the present hypothesis proposes that time of year and location of birth (i.e., season and latitude) and thus differential Zeitgeber strengths may be key contributors to a person's susceptibility of developing mood disorders like seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and common internal cancers such as those of breast and prostate. Consequently, when and where people are born might critically predispose them to both mood disorders and internal cancers, and may affect the onset and course of such illnesses. This paper develops a causal framework and presents suggestions for rigorous tests of the associated corollary and predictions. It does not escape our attention that links between the perinatal Zeitgeber strength of light and its effects on the stability of circadian systems later in life could have a role to play in affecting long-term health beyond cancer and mood disorders - mostly in adults but also in children.

What do we know 40 years after Nixon declared the 'war on cancer'? On the origin, prevention and treatment of cancer.

Evolutionary principles suggested by Darwin and Wallace some 150 years ago can provide insights into the origins of cancer. Moreover, they can form a basis for answering the question implicitly posed when Nixon declared the war on cancer in 1971: Can we actually 'cure' cancer? As explained lucidly by Greaves in 2001, necessary keys to evolution and thus for the origin of species, including ours, are changes of genes or mutations; but changes of genes are also necessary links in the causal chains which lead to cancer. In effect, cancer is therefore, according to Greaves, an 'evolutionary legacy'. Intriguingly, the realization that cancer is a consequence of changes in genes which are conditiones sine qua non for evolution suggests a mutation paradox on an evolutionary scale: in individuals, mutations may have devastating adverse health effects, including cancer. Populations, however, as a whole can be expected to benefit ultimately from changes of genes to better adapt to environmental challenges. On the basis of premises from evolution theory, it remains for us to interweave growing insights into evolutionary principles with realistic objectives for the primary prevention of and, where the latter fails, coexistence with cancer so that what we do for patients can become more of an art rather than a war.

How small can small be: the compound eye of the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma evanescens (Westwood, 1833) (Hymenoptera, Hexapoda), an insect of 0.3- to 0.4-mm total body size.

With a body length of only 0.3-0.4 mm, the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma evanescens (Westwood) is one of the smallest insects known. Yet, despite its diminutive size, it possesses compound eyes that are of oval shapes, measuring across their long axes in dorsoventral direction 63.39 and 71.11 µm in males and females, respectively. The corresponding facet diameters are 5.90 µm for males and 6.39 µm for females. Owing to the small radii of curvature of the eyes in males (34.59 µm) and females (42.82 µm), individual ommatidia are short with respective lengths of 24.29 and 34.97 µm. The eyes are of the apposition kind, and each ommatidium possesses four cone cells of the eucone type and a centrally fused rhabdom, which throughout its length is formed by no more than eight retinula cells. A ninth cell occupies the place of the eighth retinula cell in the distal third of the rhabdom. The cone is shielded by two primary and six secondary pigment cells, all with no apparent extensions to the basement membrane, unlike the case in larger hymenopterans. The regular and dense packing of the rhabdoms reflects an effective use of space. Calculations on the optics of the eyes of Trichogramma suggest that the eyes need not be diffraction limited, provided they use mostly shorter wavelengths, that is, UV light. Publications on the visual behavior of these wasps confirm Trichogramma's sensitivity to UV radiation. On the basis of our findings, some general functional conclusions for very small compound eyes are formulated.

Chemical composition of Aspongopus nepalensis Westwood 1837 (Hemiptera; Pentatomidae), a common food insect of tribal people in Arunachal Pradesh (India).

We identified nutritionally relevant fatty acids and macro- and micronutrient content in Aspongopus nepalensis Westwood 1837 (Hemiptera), an insect used as food by the ethnic people of Arunachal Pradesh (North East India). Regarding macronutrients, crude lipids made up 38.35 %, fibre 33.47 %, protein 10.6 %, moisture 41.9 %, and ash 2.1 %. Lipid amounts were higher than those of most other insects. A. nepalensis was rich in Na: 1.02 %, K: 0.35 %, Ca: 0.12 %, Mg: 0.16 % and moreover, contained considerable amounts of Fe, Cu, Zn, and Mn. With regard to vitamins, A was most abundant (34.38 µg/100 g); C, D, E, and those of the B-complex were present, but less abundant, and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content was high (56.1 % of the total fat). Oleic and palmitic acids (46.41 % and 32.32 % of total fat) were the two major fatty acids in this insect's oil. The latter also contained moderate amounts of stearic, palmitoleic, linoleic, myristic, eicosenoic, and linolenic acids.

Morphology and scaling of compound eyes in the smallest beetles (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae).

The coleopteran family Ptiliidae (featherwing beetles) includes some of the smallest insects known with most of the representatives of this family measuring less than 1 mm in body length. A small body size largely determines the morphology, physiology, and biology of an organism and affects the organization of complex sense organs. Information on the organization of the compound eyes of Ptiliidae is scarce. Using scanning electron microscopy we analyzed the eyes of representatives of all subfamilies and tribes and provide a detailed description of the eye ultrastructure of four species (Nephanes titan, Porophila mystacea, Nanosella sp. and Acrotrichis grandicollis) using transmission electron microscopy. The results are compared with available data on larger species of related groups of Staphyliniformia and scale quantitative analyses are performed. The eyes of Ptiliidae consist of 15-50 ommatidia 6-13 µm in diameter and all conform to the apposition acone type of eye with fused rhabdoms of banded organization. Each ommatidium has the typical cellular arrangement present also in the eyes of larger staphyliniform beetles, but strongly curved lenses, short cones, reduced pigment cells, a high density of pigment granules and certain modifications of the rhabdom seem typical of ptiliid eyes. Allometric analyses show that as body size decreases, the number of facets drops more steeply than their average size does.

Association between physical illnesses and depressive symptoms requiring hospitalization in suicide victims.

We examined an association between a history of hospital-treated depression and physical diseases in 1877 suicide victims from Northern Finland. Information on physical diseases and depression of victims was extracted from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Registers. Of suicide victims, 31% of female and 16% of male victims had a lifetime history of depression. When compared with victims without any lifetime hospital-treated physical illnesses, a history of depression was shown to associate with the diseases of the nervous, circulatory, respiratory, and musculoskeletal systems in the group of symptoms and signs, injuries and poisonings, and infectious diseases among male victims. Respectively, in female victims, an increased prevalence of depression was seen in endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases, diseases of the nervous, circulatory, genitourinary, skin and subcutaneous tissue, and musculoskeletal systems, and with injuries and poisonings, pregnancy-related problems and infectious diseases. This study is the first to evaluate comorbidity between physical illnesses and depression over the lifetime in suicide victims; earlier studies reported findings in living patients from epidemiological or clinical populations. Since depression can affect quality of life in severely ill patients, targeting depression in patients with chronic illness may assist in decreasing suicide rates.

Body mass index (BMI) of drug-naïve psychotic adolescents based on a population of adolescent psychiatric inpatients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the connection between overweight and first-episode schizophrenia spectrum as well as non-schizophrenia spectrum psychiatric disorders in adolescent male and female drug-naïve psychiatric inpatients, whose illness was early onset. METHOD: Three hundred twenty-three adolescents with no past or present psychiatric medication, 12-17 years of age, admitted to the psychiatric inpatient care (Oulu University Hospital, Northern Finland) between April 2001 and March 2006. DSM-IV diagnoses were based on the "Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children Present and Lifetime" (K-SADS-PL). An adolescent was defined as overweight if his or her BMI was greater than or equal to the 85th percentile. RESULTS: Overweight values were highest in drug-naïve adolescent boys with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum (RR: 2.5, 95%CI: 1.08-4.29) and non-schizophrenia spectrum (RR: 2.80, 95%CI: 2.20-3.45) disorders. The RR in girls with non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders was 1.73 (95%CI: 1.31-2.23), but in those with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders RR did not differ from general population. CONCLUSIONS: In our study sample of first-episode schizophrenia spectrum drug-naïve adolescents, overweight was shown to be prevalent in all diagnostic groups other than first-episode schizophrenia spectrum psychotic girls. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which overweight was analyzed and verified among drug-naïve adolescent boys, suffering from first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder. To what extent our results are applicable to other regions and study groups, remains to be seen.

C-reactive protein levels and sleep disturbances: observations based on the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether sleep disturbances are associated with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels at the population level. Elevated CRP levels have been found to accompany sleep disturbances, but evidence so far comes only from limited clinical and experimental studies; epidemiological studies are lacking. METHODS: We utilized the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, whose participants have been followed up to the age of 31 years. The hs-enzyme immunoassay method was used to measure highly sensitive-CRP (hs-CRP) concentrations (4011 participants). Self-reported sleep disturbances were ranked from 1 (no problem) to 5 (severe disturbances). RESULTS: Multivariate analyses, after adjusting for confounders, revealed that hs-CRP levels in men in the sleep disturbance category "moderate, considerable and severe" (i.e., self-reported sleep disturbances rated 3, 4, or 5), were >18% (18.2%, 95% Confidence Interval 3.0% to 36.3%) higher than those in men with "no" sleep disturbance. In women, hs-CRP levels did not significantly differ between different sleep disturbance categories. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that moderate-to-severe sleep disturbances in men are associated with slightly increased CRP levels at the epidemiological level. Further investigations are called for to see whether our results can be replicated in other databases.

Insulin resistance and depressive symptoms in young adult males: findings from Finnish military conscripts.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the association between insulin resistance (IR) and depressive symptoms is present already in young adult males. The association between IR and depression has been poorly studied, although the existence of a connection of Type II diabetes with depression is well established. We previously demonstrated at epidemiological level in two groups of men aged 31 years and 61 to 63 years that IR is linked with depressive symptoms. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, involving 1054 healthy Finnish male military conscripts of about 19 years of age, IR was defined through homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). The severity of the depressive symptoms was evaluated through a Finnish modification of the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (R-BDI). Moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms were said to be present, if the R-BDI score was > or = 8, and mild depressive symptoms were present if the R-BDI score was 5 to 7. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms increased the risk for IR, as defined by the highest decile of the HOMA-IR, up to 2.8-fold (odds ratio = 2.8; 1.2-6.5). Mild depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with IR. CONCLUSIONS: In young adult males, co-occurring strictly defined IR seems to be positively associated with current moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms.

Metabolic syndrome in connection with BMI in young Finnish male adults.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in relation to different Body Mass Index (BMI) categories in young Finnish males. Different components of MetS were assessed in 1099 healthy Finnish male military conscripts of about 19 years of age. Prevalence of MetS and its components, according to criteria given by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII), were calculated for different BMI categories. Based on the complete sample, prevalence of MetS, according to IDF and ATPIII criteria, was 6.8 and 3.5%, respectively. MetS prevalence increased in parallel with an increase in BMI. In obese persons it occurred in 55.4 and 27.2% according to IDF and ATPIII criteria, respectively. Our observations on MetS prevalences (which were especially high in obese service men) were in line with those few studies carried out earlier in the USA. We recommend that health education focus on those individuals that show an elevated risk of developing, already in young adulthood, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Therapeutic arthropods and other, largely terrestrial, folk-medicinally important invertebrates: a comparative survey and review.

Traditional healing methods involving hundreds of insect and other invertebrate species are reviewed. Some of the uses are based on the tenet of "similia similibus" (let likes be cured by likes), but not all non-conventional health promoting practices should be dismissed as superstition or wishful thinking, for they have stood the test of time. Two questions are addressed: how can totally different organ systems in a human possibly benefit from extracts, potions, powders, secretions, ashes, etc. of a single species and how can different target organs, e.g. bronchi, lungs, the urinary bladder, kidneys, etc. apparently respond to a range of taxonomically not even closely related species? Even though therapeutically used invertebrates are generally small, they nevertheless possess organs for specific functions, e.g. digestion, gas exchange, reproduction. They have a nervous system, endocrine glands, a heart and muscle tissue and they contain a multitude of different molecules like metabolites, enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, secretions, etc. that have come under increased scientific scrutiny for pharmacological properties. Bearing that in mind it seems likely that a single species prepared and used in different ways could have a multitude of uses. But how, for example, can there be remedies for breathing and other problems, involving earthworms, molluscs, termites, beetles, cockroaches, bugs, and dragonflies? Since invertebrates themselves can suffer from infections and cancers, common defence reactions are likely to have evolved in all invertebrates, which is why it would be far more surprising to find that each species had evolved its own unique disease fighting system. To obtain a more comprehensive picture, however, we still need information on folk medicinal uses of insects and other invertebrates from a wider range of regions and ethnic groups, but this task is hampered by western-based medicines becoming increasingly dominant and traditional healers being unable and sometimes even unwilling to transmit their knowledge to the younger generation. However, collecting and uncontrolled uses of therapeutic invertebrates can put undue pressure on certain highly sought after species and this is something that has to be borne in mind as well.

The association between C-reactive protein levels and depression: Results from the northern Finland 1966 birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate whether depressive episodes (previous, current single, and recurrent) are associated in both genders with highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels, earlier recommended for risk assessment of cardiovascular disease. The impact of the severity of current single and recurrent depressive episodes on this putative association was also investigated. METHODS: The genetically homogeneous Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort was followed until age 31, when, in a cross-sectional setting (n = 5269), the highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay (hs-EIA) method was used to measure CRP concentration. Depressive episodes were defined through mailed questionnaires, including Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) and information on self-reported, doctor-diagnosed depression. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounders, logistic regression analyses showed that in male subjects, elevated hs-CRP levels (> or =1.0 mg/L) increased the probability for severe current and recurrent depressive episodes 1.7-fold and 3.1-fold, respectively. Correspondingly, an hs-CRP level of >3.0 mg/L increased the probability for recurrent depression up to 4.1-fold. In female subjects, no statistically significant associations were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis that an activation of systemic inflammatory processes may contribute to the pathophysiology of severe depression in men. Further investigations are needed regarding the impact of our findings on diagnostic/treatment strategies concerning severe and, especially recurrent, depression in men.

Late pregnancy blood pressure in nulliparas and subsequent abnormal glucose tolerance.

A growing body of evidence indicates that pregnancy-induced hypertension can be associated with features of insulin resistance. However, the impact of lower than hypertension-levels of blood pressure in pregnancy on the subsequent risk of developing abnormal glucose tolerance (AGT), has not been examined. We investigated women born in the years 1933-1956 and living in the municipality of Savitaipale, Finland, in May 1996. Prevalence of AGT was assessed by using oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT). A retrospective chart review was carried out with regard to 216 nulliparas to obtain late pregnancy blood pressures. Logistic regression analyses showed that, after adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and age at OGTT, as well as for the number of subsequent pregnancies and the use of antihypertensive medication for PIH, 1 mmHg increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure at late pregnancy in nulliparas increased the probability for AGT later in life 1.04-fold (OR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.00-1.09) and 1.06-fold (OR, 1.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.11), respectively. The results of this study suggest that not only hypertension but also less elevated levels of blood pressure during late pregnancy in nulliparas may be used as a predictor of subsequent AGT.

Fine structural description of the lateral ocellus of Craterostigmus tasmanianus Pocock, 1902 (Chilopoda: Craterostigmomorpha) and phylogenetic considerations.

The lateral lens eye of adult Craterostigmus tasmanianus Pocock, 1902 (a centipede from Australia and New Zealand) was examined by light and electron microscopy. An elliptical, bipartite eye is located frontolaterally on either side of the head. The nearly circular posterior part of the eye is characterized by a plano-convex cornea, whereas no corneal elevation is visible in the crescentic anterior part. The so-called lateral ocellus appears cup-shaped in longitudinal section and includes a flattened corneal lens comprising a homogeneous and pigmentless epithelium of cornea-secreting cells. The retinula consists of two kinds of photoreceptive cells. The distribution of the distal retinula cells is highly irregular. Variable numbers of cells are grouped together in multilayered, thread-like unions extending from the ventral and dorsal margins into the center of the eye. Around their knob-like or bilobed apices the distal retinula cells give rise to fused polymorphic rhabdomeres. Both everse and inverse cells occur in the distal retinula. Smaller, club-shaped proximal retinula cells are present in the second (limited to the peripheral region) and proximal third of the eye, where they are arranged in dual cell units. In its apical region each unit produces a small, unidirectional rhabdom of interdigitating microvilli. All retinula cells are surrounded by numerous sheath cells. A thin basal lamina covers the whole eye cup, which, together with the distal part of the optic nerve, is wrapped by external pigment cells filled with granules of varying osmiophily. The eye of C. tasmanianus seemingly displays very high complexity compared to many other hitherto studied euarthropod eyes. Besides the complex arrangement of the entire retinula, the presence of a bipartite eye cup, intraocellar exocrine glands, inverse retinula cells, distal retinula cells with bilobed apices, separated pairs of proximal retinula cells, medio-retinal axon bundles, and the formation of a vertically partitioned, antler-like distal rhabdom represent apomorphies of the craterostigmomorph eye. These characters therefore collectively underline the separate position of the Craterostigmomorpha among pleurostigmophoran centipedes. The remaining retinal features of C. tasmanianus agree with those known from other chilopod eyes and, thus, may be considered plesiomorphies. Characters like the unicorneal eye cup, sheath cells, and proximal rhabdomeres with interdigitating microvilli were already present in the ground pattern of the Pleurostigmophora. Other retinal features were developed in the ancestral lineage of the Phylactometria (e.g., large elliptical eyes, external pigment cells, polygonal sculpturations on the corneal surface). The homology of all chilopod eyes (including Notostigmophora) is based principally on the possession of a dual type retinula.

Lifetime prevalences of physical diseases and mental disorders in young suicide victims.

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation was done of a possible link between psychiatric and physical illnesses in suicide victims 25 years of age or younger. METHODS: This was a follow-up study based on a 13-year database (n = 1,585) of all suicides committed during the years 1988 to 2000 in northern Finland with linkage to national hospital discharge registers. The setting for the study was the province of Oulu, located in northern Finland. Subjects comprised 202 male and 27 female suicide victims aged 25 years or less. RESULTS: Despite the young age of the suicide victims, lifetime prevalence of physical illness was about 70% in both males and females. In relation to mental disorders, female suicide victims were affected significantly more (45%) than their male counterparts (21%). About 27% of the subjects with physical illnesses had also suffered from mental disorders, but the respective proportion among those without any physical illness was only 7%. An increased prevalence of mental disorders was found in victims with diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and digestive systems. Furthermore, increased incidences of mental disorders were also noticed in connection with injuries, poisonings, and symptoms or signs of infectious diseases. Prevalence of mental disorders in these physical disease categories varied from 25% to 44%. CONCLUSION: We recommend a greater attention to young people with physical illnesses and other symptoms in the hope that such screening may lead to an early recognition of psychiatric disorders and suicidal tendencies.