Under natural conditions the vole (Microtus agrestis) breeds in the spring and summer but not in the autumn and winter. This seasonal change was attributed by Baker & Ranson (1933) to the influence of hours of sunshine, and in the laboratory it has been shown that photoperiod affects the growth ofgonads and maintenance of their activity (Baker & Ranson, 1932; Clarke & Kennedy, 1967; Breed & Cla...

Psychiatrists, epidemiologists, and sociologists have debated the existence of an association between weather conditions and suicide seasonality since the preliminary statistical investigations in the 19th century. Provided that the effect of weather conditions on suicide operates via a dose-response-like mechanism, time-series (Box-Jenkins) analysis permits an indirect test of the hypothesis t...

In most of England and Wales the incidence of malignant melanoma of the skin has risen rapidly in recent years, especially in women. Mean incidences in the 14 English health regions and Wales correlated negatively with latitude and positively with hours of sunshine, suggesting that exposure to sunshine was an important causal factor. Male and female incidences within a region tended to show sim...

Psychological studies support the existence of an influence of weather on mood. Saunders (1993) and Hirshleifer and Shumway (2001) argue that the weather could affect the behaviour of market traders and, therefore, it should be reflected in the stock returns. This paper investigates the possible relation between weather and market index returns in the context of the Spanish market. In 1989, thi...

The effect of increase ambient temperature and sunlight on the temperatures of the rabbit lens and posterior chamber (PC) aqueous humour was measured by needle thermistor probes while the rectal temperature was monitored. Exposure of rabbits to sunlight (35 degrees-42 degrees C), in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, resulted in significant temperature increases in PC (4.3 degrees C), lens (3.2 degre...

this research evaluated the effects of onion curing methods on the qualitative traits of iranian onion cultivars (azarshahr red, neishabour red, kashan white, qom white). testing was carried out in the autumn and winter of 2007. the experimental design was factorial with two factors and three replicates. the factors were traditional and sunlight curing methods at 42°c for 12 hr for 48°c for 4 h...

Preening is a bird's first line of defense against harmful ectoparasites. Ectoparasites, in turn, have evolved adaptations for avoiding preening such as hardened exoskeletons and escape behavior. Earlier work suggests that some groups of ectoparasites, such as feather lice, leave hiding places in feathers that are exposed to direct sunlight, making them more vulnerable to preening. It is, there...

nifedipine (nif) a 1, 4-dihydropyridine calcium channel antagonist, undergoes photodegradation to nitroso analogues of dehydronifedipine (ndnif) when exposed to sunlight. photodegradation products of nif have no clinical activity, so different formulations of nif must remain unchanged. if nif preparations become unstable in exposure to light, they could cause therapeutic failure. the present st...

BACKGROUND Sunlight exposure and high vitamin D status have been hypothesised to reduce the risk of developing dementia. The objective of our research was to determine whether lack of sunlight and hypovitaminosis D over time are associated with dementia. METHODS We systematically searched MEDLINE (via PubMed), Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Web of Science, ICONDA, and reference lists of pe...