Trends In Chronobiology

This book covers topics from a wide variety of disciplines including cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, endocrinology, genetics, molecular biology, neurobiology, and pharmacology. There is a focus on circadian (daily), tidal, seasonal, and annual rhythms, as well as other biological rhythms. Rhythms are placed within the context of the functional significance of these rhythms for the health and well-being of relevant organisms and include genetic and molecular mechanisms of biological timekeeping, melatonin and pineal gland rhythms, as well as on the chronobiology and chronotherapy of cardiovascular, pulmonary, ulcer, and other diseases.

Hardbound. The 18th Conference of the International Society for Chronobiology, held in conjunction with the Third Annual Meeting of the European Society for Chronobiology took place in Leiden, The Netherlands, in July 1987. Chronobiology, defined as the study of temporal processes at all levels of biological organization, is a rapidly developing new field with its own concepts, tools and methods. The aim of this conference was to produce a state-of-the-art summary of the subject, taking into consideration the basic and applied fields as well as the different schools of thought. Alongside the oral communications are overview chapters from scientists unable to attend the meeting, reporting on recent advances in their specific fields.

A circadian rhythm is a roughly-24-hour cycle in the physiological processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria. The term 'circadian', comes from the Latin circa, 'around', and dies, 'day', meaning literally 'about a day'. The formal study of biological temporal rhythms such as daily, weekly, seasonal, and annual rhythms, is called chronobiology. In a strict sense, circadian rhythms are endogenously generated, although they can be modulated by external cues such as sunlight and temperature. Most of a person's body systems demonstrate circadian variations. The body systems with the most prominent circadian variations are the sleep-wake cycle, the temperature regulation system, and the endocrine system. The malfunctioning of a person's circadian system, or biological clock, causes circadian rhythm disorders. Circadian rhythms and their relation to health outcomes in the globalised hyper world of the 21st century are now understood to be extremely important.

Profound progress has been made in the fields of chronobiology and psychobiology within the past decade, in theory, experiment and clinical application. This volume integrates these new developments on all levels from the molecular, genetic and cellular to the psycho social processes of everyday life. We present a balanced variety of research from workers around the globe, who discuss the funda mental significance of their approach for a new understanding of the central role of ultradian rhythms in the self-organizing and adaptive dynamics of all life processes. The years since the publication of Ultra dian rhythms in physiology and behavior by Schultz and Lavie in 1985 have seen a burgeoning realization of the ubiquity and importance of ultradian rhythms within and between every level of the psychobiological hierarchy. The experimental evidence lies scattered through a disparate litera ture, and this volume attempts, albeit in a highly selective manner, to bring together some of the different strands. The editors are very conscious of the omission of many important current aspects; e.g. we have not included any of the fascinating and indeed long and well-established experiments with plants (Bunning 1971, 1977; Guillaume and Koukkari 1987; Millet et al. 1988; 10hnsson et al. 1990) that are widely regarded as having initiated the whole field of chronobiology (De Mairan 1729). Neither have we reviewed recent developments on glycolytic oscillations, since a great deal of the seminal work was already completed by 1973 (Chance et al. 1973).

Every aspect of immune function and host defense is dependent upon a proper supply and balance of nutrients. Severe malnutrition can cause significant alteration in immune response, but even subclinical deficits may be associated with an impaired immune response, and an increased risk of infection. Infectious diseases have accounted for more off-duty days during major wars than combat wounds or nonbattle injuries. Combined stressors may reduce the normal ability of soldiers to resist pathogens, increase their susceptibility to biological warfare agents, and reduce the effectiveness of vaccines intended to protect them. There is also a concern with the inappropriate use of dietary supplements. This book, one of a series, examines the impact of various types of stressors and the role of specific dietary nutrients in maintaining immune function of military personnel in the field. It reviews the impact of compromised nutrition status on immune function; the interaction of health, exercise, and stress (both physical and psychological) in immune function; and the role of nutritional supplements and newer biotechnology methods reported to enhance immune function. The first part of the book contains the committee's workshop summary and evaluation of ongoing research by Army scientists on immune status in special forces troops, responses to the Army's questions, conclusions, and recommendations. The rest of the book contains papers contributed by workshop speakers, grouped under such broad topics as an introduction to what is known about immune function, the assessment of immune function, the effect of nutrition, and the relation between the many and varied stresses encountered by military personnel and their effect on health.

The regular alternation of light and dark affects not only human biological systems, but also the social organization of behavior. The effect of such light modes is manifested in periodic changes in physiological functions and biological rhythms exhibited at every level of life. The book discusses some of the specificities of the circadian rhythms in living organisms and mentions aspects of the control of circadian rhythms as well as experimental and clinical cases that are closely related to circadian disruption. This book can evoke interest in many researchers who want to use this information for the advancement of their research towards a better understanding of the biological time structure.

An introduction to the mathematical, computational, and analytical techniques used for modeling biological rhythms, presenting tools from many disciplines and example applications. All areas of biology and medicine contain rhythms, and these behaviors are best understood through mathematical tools and techniques. This book offers a survey of mathematical, computational, and analytical techniques used for modeling biological rhythms, gathering these methods for the first time in one volume. Drawing on material from such disciplines as mathematical biology, nonlinear dynamics, physics, statistics, and engineering, it presents practical advice and techniques for studying biological rhythms, with a common language. The chapters proceed with increasing mathematical abstraction. Part I, on models, highlights the implicit assumptions and common pitfalls of modeling, and is accessible to readers with basic knowledge of differential equations and linear algebra. Part II, on behaviors, focuses on simpler models, describing common properties of biological rhythms that range from the firing properties of squid giant axon to human circadian rhythms. Part III, on mathematical techniques, guides readers who have specific models or goals in mind. Sections on “frontiers” present the latest research; “theory” sections present interesting mathematical results using more accessible approaches than can be found elsewhere. Each chapter offers exercises. Commented MATLAB code is provided to help readers get practical experience. The book, by an expert in the field, can be used as a textbook for undergraduate courses in mathematical biology or graduate courses in modeling biological rhythms and as a reference for researchers.