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This paper reviews the literature on clinical signs such as imitation behavior, grasp reaction, manipulation of tools, utilization behavior, environmental dependency, hyperlexia, hypergraphia and echolalia. Some aspects of this semiology are of special interest because they refer to essential notions such as free-will and autonomy.
This correlational study investigated possible behavioral, parental, and environmental differences in enuretic children who were either receiving or not receiving treatment for bed-wetting. The subjects wer 5- to 12-year-old children who were nocturnally incontinent at least once a week and physically normal in all other respects. Seventeen of these youngsters were receiving pharmacologic treatment for enuresis (clinical enuretic group) and 20 were not (nonclinical enuretic group). Clinical enuretic children were older and wet more frequently than youngsters whose parents had not sought treatment for this problem. Their fathers more often held blue-collar jobs and their mothers were more intolerant of enuresis than were parents of the nonclinical enuretic sample. These two groups did not differ in number and type of child behavior problems, number of life-stress events, age toilet training commenced, or parental child-rearing practices employed. However, enuretic youngsters displayed more conduct problems and immature behavior than their nonenuretic counterparts. Mothers of enuretic youngsters applied more rule-oriented child-rearing practices than mothers of nonenuretic controls. There were no differences between the enuretic and nonenuretic groups in number of early-life stressful events or the age at which toilet training commenced.
A behavioral factor, sleep, and a physical environmental factor, light, can trigger or terminate episodes of affective illness. The authors review the experimental evidence for these effects and discuss recent research on their biological mechanisms. In light of these findings the authors speculate that affective illness could partly be a disorder of systems that mediate the organism's adaptations to changes in the physical environment.
With the continual increase in the utilization of rare earth elements (REEs) for industrial and agricultural purposes in China, the research into the environmental biogeochemical behavior of REEs has become a pressing issue. The REEs' content in soil and various parts of wheat under different conditions in soil-plant systems were measured by INAA and ICP-MS. The results showed four aspects. (1) The mean value of total REEs in soil of China was 176.8 mg kg(-1). The mean ratio of SigmaLREE/SigmaHREE in soils was 8.0 and cerium accounts for 42% of the total REEs. The content of REEs in wheat seed ranged between 10(-11) and 10(-8) g g(-1), 3-4 orders of magnitude lower than that in soil. (2) The REEs contents in ryegrass, especially in roots, were significantly related to that of soil. The bioavailability of REEs in soil mainly depended on the exchangeable fraction of REEs, which was strongly affected by the physico-chemical properties of the soil. (3) Long-term foliage-dressing with Changle microfertilizer of REEs did not affect the contents and distribution patterns of REEs in soil. At the maturing stage of spring wheat, the REEs content was in the order of root > leaf >stem and crust. Compared with the control, foliage-dressing has a higher accumulation of REEs in root and leaf. However, no significant difference was found in stem and crust between the two treatments. (4) There was no significant accumulation with the soil-dressing method. When comparing controls in both foliage- and soil-dressing methods, no distinct residue of REEs in grains was found.
Genetic variation in behavioral traits allows organisms to respond and adapt to environmental challenges. Genetic variation in behavior is often affected by many genes and thus has a complex genetic basis. Inversions, the reorientation of genes along the chromosome, tightly link genetic variants together because they suppress recombination. Therefore, inversions are believed to have a major impact on phenotypic variation because they combine the effects of multiple genes, which can pleiotropically alter multiple aspects of behavior. This study investigates how the inversion In(2L)t, found in Drosophila melanogaster populations around the world, impacts different aspects of behavior in an environment-sensitive manner. We test the activity, foraging, and startle-induced behavior of flies with different In(2L)t genotypes across sex and temperatures. We observe that Drosophila homozygous for In(2L)t sleep less frequently, spend more time away from a food source, and have a longer duration of startle response. Additionally, the impacts of In(2L)t on aspects of behavior can be sex-specific and are largely consistent across temperatures. Taken together, our research demonstrates that inversions can regulate aspects of behavior, and suggests hypotheses explaining the distribution of In(2L)t across space and time.
BACKGROUND: There is little information about the occurrence and risk factors of periodontal diseases in developing countries. This study describes the clinical attachment loss (CAL) in an adult Brazilian population and performs a risk assessment of demographic, behavioral, and environmental exposures. METHODS: A representative sample of 853 dentate individuals (age: 30 to 103 years) was selected by a multistage probability sampling method. The subjects had a full-mouth clinical examination of six sites per tooth and were interviewed using a structured written questionnaire. RESULTS: Seventy-nine percent (79%) and 52% of the subjects and 36% and 16% of the teeth per subject had CAL > or = 5 and > or = 7 mm, respectively. A multivariable model showed that 40 to 49 and > or = 50 years olds had 3.0 and 5.9 times higher risk for moderate CAL and 7.4 and 25.4 times higher risk for severe CAL, compared to the 30 to 39 years olds. Moderate cigarette smokers had a significantly higher risk for moderate (relative risk ratio [RRR] = 2.1) and severe CAL (RRR = 3.4), and heavy smokers had a higher risk for moderate (RRR = 3.0) and severe CAL (RRR = 8.2) compared to non-smokers. A significantly higher risk for severe CAL was also present in males (RRR = 1.6), subjects with low (RRR = 1.8) or medium socioeconomic status (RRR = 1.6), and those with a history of irregular dental visits (RRR = 2.1). Diabetic status and race did not show significant associations with CAL after adjusting for other effects. CONCLUSIONS: This Brazilian population had a high occurrence of attachment loss. A population-based strategy that includes the establishment of prevention and health promotion programs targeting high-risk groups is highly desirable for controlling the high occurrence of attachment loss in this population.
Since mucosal surfaces represent the interface between the host and the environment and are the most common portal of pathogen entry, early development of functional mucosal immune defense is essential for survival. The development of mucosal immune function is profoundly influenced by maternal, environmental, and behavioral factors and although the impact of these is greatest during the prenatal and immediately postnatal periods, their influence extends beyond this period and patterns of development in postnatal life determine many of the immune outcomes in later life. This review will correlate information regarding age-related changes occurring in mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue from a variety of animal models and in humans and will explore how the interactions which exist between the immune and neuroendocrine systems orchestrate these effects. In particular the role of prenatal and postnatal stressors, feeding patterns, nutritional factors, infections, and exposure to allergens and toxins are addressed. A clear understanding of the way in which these factors interact to influence development and control of mucosal immune function will assist in the design of neonatal vaccination and disease management strategies.
This study examined risk factors for functional limitations in a community-based sample of 16,065 women from 5 ethnic groups, aged 40-55 years, enrolled in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Almost 20% of this sample reported physical-functioning limitations. Functional limitations were associated with numerous disease conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack or angina, arthritis, osteoporosis, and cancer, and with several behavioral and environmental risk factors, including body mass index, difficulty paying for basics, and high levels of perceived stress. Consistent with findings in older women, this study shows that in addition to health conditions, potentially modifiable risk factors including high body mass index, difficulty paying for basics, and high levels of stress are associated with physical-functioning limitations of women at midlife.
Coadaptation predicts a match between the thermal physiology and thermoregulatory behavior of reptiles. We tested this prediction by studying the digestive biology of rubber boas (Charina bottae). We measured the thermal dependence of gastric digestive rate and passage rate in rubber boas from 10 degrees C to 35 degrees C. We examined the effect of digestion on their thermal preference by measuring the temperatures of C. bottae in a thermal gradient before and after feeding. While the passage rates calculated from the body temperatures of digesting snakes were higher than the passage rates calculated from the body temperatures of nondigesting snakes, there was no difference in calculated digestive rates. These results indicate that the thermoregulatory behavior of C. bottae may be more tightly correlated with factors affecting passage rate than with digestive rate alone. Results of simulating the constraints of the thermal environment on the digestive biology of C. bottae showed that digestion would take more than twice as long in the spring as in the summer. In addition, during the summer, snakes thermoregulating as digesting snakes would pass food 12% faster than those thermoregulating as nondigesting snakes. These results demonstrate how interpretation of laboratory studies can be improved when combined with measurements of appropriate environmental conditions.
Examines the clinical significance and correlates of disruptive behavior disorder symptoms (DBDSX) in preschoolers. Participants were 129 predominantly minority preschoolers (2 1/2 to 5 1/2) residing in low-income environments, half of whom were clinic-referred for disruptive behavior. Children with higher levels of DBDSX were more impaired in parent-child, preschool and clinic contexts. Correlates of DBDSX included both prenatal and infancy risks (low soothability as infants, prenatal exposure to cigarettes) and concurrent parenting factors (harshness, low levels of behavioral responsiveness, and parenting stress). In general, the clinical and risk profile of DBDSX in preschoolers at environmental risk appears to be similar to that of older children. Based on the results of this study, etiologic and prevention research on disruptive behavior disorders should begin in the first few years of life.
Nine models for the etiology of drug abuse have been examined. Problem behavior theory, domain theory, and Flay's developmental model suggest that drug use is a functional behavior for adolescents, and that prevention efforts should address this functionality and provide alternative behaviors for drug use rather than simply trying to suppress the underlying need or reason for use. These positions, together with the stages of drug use and stages of antisocial behavior models, place drug use in a developmental context, suggesting that the factors that influence drug use evolve as the child matures through adolescence, and that the developmental period of the adolescent should be considered in any prevention effort. They also suggest that drug use is common for many adolescents in today's culture. There is general support among the models to consider drug use as a part of a larger constellation of behaviors, whether labeled problem behaviors, antisocial behaviors, or by another name. This suggests that prevention programs must treat drug use in its behavioral context as well as its developmental and functional context. Finally, there is strong support for social-environmental factors such as modelling, availability of drugs, and social supports in the development of drug use. Though the various models often use different terminology, there are remarkable similarities in their implications for prevention efforts.
Moderate amounts of several different experimental procedures are capable of producing stomach lesions in laboratory rats. The fact that some animals fail to develop such lesions under most conditions suggests that uncontrolled variables are involved in the physiological response. Although physiological characteristics of the experimental animals have most often been studied, several reports indicate that the activity level of the animal just before the stress period is related to the proportion of animals that develop lesions or the severity of lesions that develop. This suggests that the tendency to develop stomach lesions may depend on the interaction between the level of an animal's activity and the nature of the environmental conditions to which it is exposed. A study is reported in which two equally pathogenic environmental conditions are shown to be differentially pathogenic for behaviorally different animals.
Day-to-day changes in adult mosquito populations are difficult to measure due to the interactions between specific mosquito behavior, environmental influences upon behavior, and the mode of operation of the sampling technique. Mosquito responses to terrain features and various meteorological factors are briefly summarized with the object of improving our understanding of the samples provided by several classes of sampling techniques. The two major environmental influences upon the composition of a sample are the terrain features and several meteorological factors. As each sampling site is unique, a sample provides little direct information of the numbers of mosquitoes within the much broader area it is supposed to represent but it can reflect population changes at the site. However, the population changes usually are masked by meteorological effects upon flight activity. Data from Florida field studies were utilized to adjust trap catches to compensate for meteorological conditions during the catch period to provide more standard samples.
This study examined the extent to which private practice physical therapy firms focused on specific environmental sectors in the process of making business decisions. Furthermore, the relationship between scanning behavior and both entrepreneurship level (high, middle, low) and direct-access status (complete, partial, none) were analyzed. The sample consisted of 450 randomly selected private practice decision makers (eg, owners, chief executive officers) from throughout the United States. Data were gathered using a mailed, structured questionnaire. Physical therapy private practices were found to differentially attend to environmental sectors with the customer sector ranked the highest followed, in descending order, by the technological, regulatory, socio-cultural-political, competitive, and economic sectors. In addition, firms in the high-level entrepreneurship group scanned the technological and marketing (customer, competitive) environments to a significantly greater degree than did the middle- and low-level groups. Direct-access status had no effect on scanning behavior.
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STUDY OBJECTIVES: To identify behavioral, environmental, and sociodemographic risk factors associated with non-fatal firearm injuries among inner city adolescents in the United States. DESIGN: A case-control study in which patients with firearm injury serve as cases and those with medical conditions serve as controls. SETTING: A level I trauma center in a metropolitan area serving a predominately lower socioeconomic status population. PARTICIPANTS: Cases were 45 consecutive patients 11-18 years presenting to the emergency department with non-fatal firearm injury; controls were 50 age and gender matched patients presenting with acute medical problems. OUTCOME MEASURE: Odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) as estimates of the magnitude of association between risk factors and non-fatal firearm injury. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, gender and socioeconomic status, multivariate analysis identified four risk factors independently associated with firearm injury: living with less than two parents (OR 3.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 12.2), skipping class (OR 7.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 28.9), previous arrest (OR 6.2, 95% CI 1.9 to 20.7), and being African-American (OR 4.2; 95%CI 1.4 to 14.9). CONCLUSION: Risk factors for adolescents sustaining a non-fatal firearm injury are sociodemographic and environmental, not just behavioral. Thus interventions that foster protective and supportive environments may help prevent firearm injuries.
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