From Melancholia to Depression

This open access book maps a crucial but neglected chapter in the history of psychiatry: how was melancholia transformed in the nineteenth century from traditional melancholy madness into a modern biomedical mood disorder, paving the way for the emergence of clinical depression as a psychiatric illness in the twentieth century? At a time when the prevalence of mood disorders and antidepressant consumption are at an all-time high, the need for a comprehensive historical understanding of how modern depressive illness came into being has never been more urgent. This book addresses a significant gap in existing scholarly literature on melancholia, depression, and mood disorders by offering a contextualised and critical perspective on the history of melancholia in the first decades of psychiatry, from the 1830s until the turn of the twentieth century

A behavioural approach to research the possibility of a heat sense in dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

Pre-existing material show that the nose temperatures of carnivorian species are clearly below the nose temperatures of typical grazers. The reason for this dierence is yet unknown. Analyses of histological sections have revealed a dense innervation of the nose skin, an indication of a sensory function. A heat sense would benet from a low temperature in the nose, in contrast to other senses. The heat sense could be used for initiating a hunt when wind direction is unfortunate, or for surveillance of territory. The hypothesis of a heat sense present in the noses of carnivorians were researched through behavioural choice tasks with dogs. One long distance and one short distance set-up were used. Results show however that performances were at chance level and that no learning took place. Considerable methodological deciencies are identied and suggestions of alternative approaches with reduced complexity are given. An additional study of the surface temperature of mammals was also performed to map the relevant temperature spectrum for a heat sense, but due to unreliable measurements the study was ended prematurely and suggestions are given of future improvements.Hunden, en värmedetektor? Hundnosen är kall och blöt, precis som de flesta andra landlevande rovdjurs. Inte så revolutionerande i sig kanske, men när man börjar jämföra med andra djur, med gräsätare, börjar man bli konfunderad. För både kor, hästar, får och antiloper har varm och blöt nos. Varför det? Det vet vi inte. Det vi vet är att det finns någon sorts vinst med att rovdjurens nos är just kall. För den är inte bara kall, den är kyld. Av någon anledning lägger rovdjuren energi på att ha låg temperatur i nosen, och är det något man inte vill slösa med i naturen, så är det energi! Eftersom de flesta rovdjur har kalla nosar, kan man dra slutsatsen att den gemensamma förfadern till alla rovdjur också hade kall nos. Hade det inte varit konstigt att någonting som inte skulle ha någon funktion och dessutom kostar energi skulle finnas kvar hos rovdjuren sådär 80 miljoner år senare? Det låter väldigt osannolikt, så därför har vi undersökt en möjlig förklaring till den kalla nosen, ett värmesinne. Kyliga resultat för varm hypotes När man har tittat på nosvävnad i mikroskop har man sett att det finns väldigt mycket nerver i nosen. Det brukar betyda att något sinne är inkopplat. Luktsinnet är den första kandidaten till att vara involverad när det gäller nosar, men i det här fallet verkar det inte så troligt. Om vävnaden är kall rör sig doftmolekylerna mindre och kemiska reaktioner går långsammare. Lika illa är det med känseln. Tänk på hur lätt det är att knyta skorna med stelfrusna fingrar! Då kvarstår ett värmesinne, som faktiskt tjänar på att nosen är kall. Kontrasten mot det varma man vill upptäcka är större och dessutom skickar inte nosen själv ut en massa störande signaler. För att testa hypotesten om ett värmesinne, lät vi hundar välja mellan att springa till ett varmt eller till ett kallt föremål. Varje gång de valde varmt, hittade de en belöning. Vi testade detta både på långt och på kort avstånd. Tyvärr visade resultaten inte att de oftare valde den varma sidan, och de lärde sig inte över tid heller. Det kan bero på att värmesinnet kanske inte är aktivt i en vuxen hund. Hela samhället är fullt av värmekällor som hundar inte har ett dugg nytta av att registrera, alltså kan nervkopplingarna som får sinnet att fungera ha försvagats betydligt strax efter att hunden lämnat valpstadiet. Men det kan också bero på att uppgiften var för svår. Situationen var kanske helt fel? Att hitta en plastdunk med varmvatten i var kanske inte tillräckligt motiverande? Deras temperatur i nosen var kanske inte tillräckligt låg för att kunna använda värmesinnet? Det finns givetvis också möjligheten att hypotesen om ett värmesinne är fel och att den kalla nosen beror på något annat. I nuläget finns dock inga andra förslag, så därför behöver vi förbättra metoderna och se om det leder till bättre resultat. Det är så mycket som vi ännu inte vet och därför måste vi prova oss fram! Handledare: Ronald Kröger Masterexamensarbete i Biologi 30 hp 2015 Biologiska institutionen, Lunds universite

From Melancholia to Depression

This open access book maps a crucial but neglected chapter in the history of psychiatry: how was melancholia transformed in the nineteenth century from traditional melancholy madness into a modern biomedical mood disorder, paving the way for the emergence of clinical depression as a psychiatric illness in the twentieth century? At a time when the prevalence of mood disorders and antidepressant consumption are at an all-time high, the need for a comprehensive historical understanding of how modern depressive illness came into being has never been more urgent. This book addresses a significant gap in existing scholarly literature on melancholia, depression, and mood disorders by offering a contextualised and critical perspective on the history of melancholia in the first decades of psychiatry, from the 1830s until the turn of the twentieth century

Growth, survival and development of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) fed flowering plants

House crickets (Acheta domesticus) are increasingly being used as food. This has the potential for a more efficient food production that also may benefit agroecosystems. As the first study to compare feeds based on European wild flowering plants as feed for house crickets we examined five common plants known to support biodiversity of wild insects (white clover (Trifolium repens), white nettle (Lamium album), common nettle (Urtica dioica), rough comfrey (Symphytum asperum) and common gypsophila (Gypsophila paniculata). These plants and a control diet were fed as dried and sole feeds ad libitum to one-day-old house crickets for 62 days in a climate-controlled laboratory. Cricket weight, mortality and feed intake were recorded every 7 days. An additional test examined crickets preferences for forages and the effect on maturation and weight, by providing a free choice of rapeseed and wheat meal and either an early- or late-cut red clover (Trifolium pratense) or white nettle for 62 days. Mortality of crickets fed common nettle, rough comfrey and common gypsophila exceeded 80% in first 7 days, so these plants were removed from the trial after 14 days. Survival of crickets on white nettle and control feed was 59% after 28 days and average cricket weight was similar. By day 62, the weight of crickets fed white nettle and white clover was on average 32 mg, compared with 201 mg on control feed. In the free choice test, crickets consumed 15-30% red clover, 31-37% wheat meal and 39-64% rapeseed. Crickets with access to red clover showed a higher (P<0.001) proportion of adults (28%) compared with the control (5%). We conclude that white nettle has potential as feed for house crickets during the early growth stages, and that red clover supplementation increase cricket maturation. Using feeds including white nettle and red clover in cricket rearing additionally benefits to support wild biodiversity and lower feed costs

Environmental Flow Scenarios for a Regulated River System: Projecting Catchment-Wide Ecosystem Benefits and Consequences for Hydroelectric Production

To enable prioritization among measures for ecological restoration, knowing the expected benefits and consequences of implementation is imperative but rarely explicitly quantified. We developed a novel method to prioritize among environmental flow measures to rehabilitate ecosystems in the Ume River catchment in northern Sweden, a river system heavily regulated for hydropower production. Our strategy was to identify measures with minimal impact on hydropower production while providing substantial environmental benefits. Based on field surveys of remaining natural values and potential for ecological rehabilitation, we quantified the projected gain in habitat area of implementing environmental flows for target organism groups, for example, lotic fish species and riparian vegetation, along the whole river length. We quantified the consequences for hydropower production by identifying a set of hydropower operational rules reflecting the constraints added by environmental flows. We then used production optimization software to calculate changes in hydropower production and revenues. Implementing restrictions on zero-flow events by mandating minimum discharge at all run-of-river hydropower stations and allocating 1%-12% of mean annual discharge to bypassed reaches in the entire catchment would result in a 2.1% loss of annual electricity production. Adding flow to fishways would increase the loss to 3.1% per year. With implementation of more natural water-level fluctuations in run-of-river impoundments, the loss increases to 3.8%. These actions would increase the habitat for lotic species like the grayling Thymallus more than threefold and increase the area of riparian vegetation by about 66%. Our method forms a basis for ongoing implementation of nationwide environmental rehabilitation schemes

Urban open space management in the Nordic countries. Identification of current challenges based on managers' perceptions

This paper reports on how Nordic practise relates to, and perceives contemporary challenges to urban open space management. The study used a case study approach, via interviews. The studied Nordic cities experience the effects of densification in inner city areas. This is often resulting in higher pressure on existing urban open spaces, but also generating new spaces which tend to be small and fragmented, not meeting the many wishes and demands asked for by the diverse user groups. While budgets are sufficiently allocated in new development projects, it is a challenge to withstand the maintenance budgets, forcing managers to prioritise. Due to primary political interest in inner city areas, there is a risk of managers not prioritising the more peripheral areas, from where resources are often transferred to the newly developed areas. This creates a new type of urban nature, primarily in the urban peripheral areas, with increased amounts of biodiversity and higher amounts of multi-functionality, compared to the smaller and more intensively programmed inner-city areas. Urban open space managers are relying on the existing municipal planning tools, and to varying degrees act strategically in terms of developing own sector oriented plans and strategies

Growth and survival of reared Cambodian field crickets (Teleogryllus testaceus) fed weeds, agricultural and food industry by-products

This study evaluated survival and growth of Cambodian field crickets (Teleogryllus testaceus) during captivity when fed a set of local weed species, agricultural and food industry by-products. Wild individuals were caught at two locations in Cambodia, kept in pens and fed commercial chicken feed until the second generation off-spring hatched. First larval stage nymphs from this generation were collected and used in a 70-day feeding trial with one control treatment (chicken feed) and 12 experimental treatments (rice bran, cassava plant tops, water spinach, spent grain, residue from mungbean sprout production, and Alternanthera sessilis, Amaranthus spinosus, Commelina benghalensis, Cleome rutidosperma, Cleome viscosa, Boerhavia diffusa and Synedrela nodiflora). The crickets were kept in plastic cages and feed intake, weight and survival of crickets were recorded weekly. Overall survival did not differ between chicken feed and the experimental treatments with the exception of crickets fed B. diffusa, which had lower survival. From day 35 to day 49, survival on A. sessilis was also lower (P<0.05) than on chicken feed. There was no difference in weight between crickets fed chicken feed, cassava tops and C. rutidosperma. However, crickets fed A. sessilis, A. spinosus and B. diffusa weighed less than those fed chicken feed already at day 21. The feed conversion rate ranged from 1.6 to 3.9 and was ≤1.9 in crickets fed chicken feed, cassava plant tops and C. rutidosperma. Thus this study shows that it is possible, using simple means, to rear Cambodian field crickets. Cassava plant tops and C. rutidosperma both have great potential as cricket feed and the other weeds, with the exception of A. sessilis, A. spinosus and B. diffusa, agricultural and food industry by-products tested, also showed potential

A new non-invasive ultrasonic method for simultaneous measurements of longitudinal and radial arterial wall movements: first in vivo trial.

During recent years, the radial movement of the arterial wall has been extensively studied, and measurements of the radial movement are now an important tool in cardiovascular research for characterizing the mechanical properties of the arterial wall. In contrast, the longitudinal movement of vessels has gained little or no attention as it has been presumed that this movement is negligible. With modern high-resolution ultrasound, it can, however, be seen that the intima-media complex of the arterial wall moves not only in the radial direction, but also in the longitudinal direction during pulse-wave propagation. This paper describes a new non-invasive ultrasonic method that is able to measure simultaneously two dimensionally arterial vessel wall movements. The method is demonstrated in a limited in vivo trial. Results from the in vivo trial show that, apart from the well-known radial movement, there is a distinct longitudinal movement in the human common carotid artery with, in this case, the intima-media complex moving substantially as compared with the region of the tunica adventitia. Two-dimensional evaluation of the vessel-wall movements, taking not only the radial movement, but also the longitudinal movement into account, may provide novel information of importance in the evaluation of vessel-wall function

Virus Diversity and Loads in Crickets Reared for Feed: Implications for Husbandry

Insects generally have high reproductive rates leading to rapid population growth and high local densities; ideal conditions for disease epidemics. The parasites and diseases that naturally regulate wild insect populations can also impact when these insects are produced commercially, on farms. While insects produced for human or animal consumption are often reared under high density conditions, very little is known about the microbes associated with these insects, particularly those with pathogenic potential. In this study we used both target-free and targeted screening approaches to explore the virome of two cricket species commonly reared for feed and food, Acheta domesticus and Gryllus bimaculatus. The target-free screening of DNA and RNA from a single A. domesticus frass sample revealed that only 1% of the nucleic acid reads belonged to viruses, including known cricket, insect, bacterial and plant pathogens, as well as a diverse selection of novel viruses. The targeted screening revealed relatively high levels of Acheta domesticus densovirus, invertebrate iridovirus 6 and a novel iflavirus, as well as low levels of Acheta domesticus volvovirus, in insect and frass samples from several retailers. Our findings highlight the value of multiple screening approaches for a comprehensive and robust cricket disease monitoring and management strategy. This will become particularly relevant as-and-when cricket rearing facilities scale up and transform from producing insects for animal feed to producing insects for human consumption