early environment effects: Topics by Science.gov

Sample records for early environment effects

Effects of resource variation during early life and adult social environment on contest outcomes in burying beetles: a context-dependent silver spoon strategy?

PubMed

Hopwood, Paul E; Moore, Allen J; Royle, Nick J

2014-06-22

Good early nutritional conditions may confer a lasting fitness advantage over individuals suffering poor early conditions (a 'silver spoon' effect). Alternatively, if early conditions predict the likely adult environment, adaptive plastic responses might maximize individual performance when developmental and adult conditions match (environmental-matching effect). Here, we test for silver spoon and environmental-matching effects by manipulating the early nutritional environment of Nicrophorus vespilloides burying beetles. We manipulated nutrition during two specific early developmental windows: the larval environment and the post-eclosion environment. We then tested contest success in relation to variation in adult social environmental quality experienced (defined according to whether contest opponents were smaller (good environment) or larger (poor environment) than the focal individual). Variation in the larval environment influenced adult body size but not contest success per se for a given adult social environment experienced (an 'indirect' silver spoon effect). Variation in post-eclosion environment affected contest success dependent on the quality of the adult environment experienced (a context-dependent 'direct' silver spoon effect). By contrast, there was no evidence for environmental-matching. The results demonstrate the importance of social environmental context in determining how variation in nutrition in early life affects success as an adult.
Effects of Early Literacy Environments on the Reading Attitudes, Behaviours and Values of Veteran Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levitt, Roberta; Red Owl, R. H.

2013-01-01

Research has linked early literacy environments to the attitudes, behaviours and instructional values of reading teachers, but most prior research has addressed preservice or early inservice teachers. This mixed-methods, hypothesis-generating, "Q" methodology-based study explored the relationship between early literacy environments and…
Unpacking socio-economic risks for reading and academic self-concept in primary school: Differential effects and the role of the preschool home learning environment.

PubMed

Crampton, Alexandria; Hall, James

2017-09-01

Uncertainty remains concerning how children's reading and academic self-concept are related and how these are differentially affected by social disadvantage and home learning environments. To contrast the impacts of early socio-economic risks and preschool home learning environments upon British children's reading abilities and academic self-concept between 7 and 10 years. n = 3,172 British children aged 3-10 years and their families. A secondary analysis of the nationally representative UK EPPE database. Multilevel structural equation modelling calculated the direct, indirect, and total impacts of early socio-economic risks (0-3 years) and preschool home learning environments (3-5 years) upon children's reading ability and academic self-concept between 7 and 10 years. Early socio-economic risk had different effects upon children's reading ability and academic self-concept. Early socio-economic risks affected children's reading at ages 7 and 10 both directly and indirectly via effects upon preschool home learning environments. By contrast, early socio-economic risks had only indirect effects upon children's academic self-concept via less stimulating home learning environments in the preschool period and by limiting reading abilities early on in primary school. Although the impacts of early socio-economic risks are larger and more easily observed upon reading than upon academic self-concept, they can impact both by making it less likely that children will experience enriching home learning environments during the preschool period. This has implications for social policymakers, early educators, and interventionists. Intervening early and improving preschool home learning environments can do more than raise children's reading abilities; secondary benefits may also be achievable upon children's self-concept. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.
The roles of birth inputs and outputs in predicting health, behaviour and test scores in early childhood.

PubMed

Li, Kai; Poirier, Dale J

2003-11-30

The goal of this study is to address directly the predictive value of birth inputs and outputs, particularly birth weight, for measures of early childhood development in a simultaneous equations modelling framework. Strikingly, birth outputs have virtually no structural/causal effects on early childhood developmental outcomes, and only maternal smoking and drinking during pregnancy have some effects on child height. Not surprisingly, family child-rearing environment has sizeable negative and positive effects on a behavioural problems index and a mathematics/reading test score, respectively, and a mildly surprising negative effect on child height. Despite little evidence of a structural/causal effect of birth weight on early childhood developmental outcomes, our results demonstrate that birth weight nonetheless has strong predictive effects on early childhood outcomes. Furthermore, these effects are largely invariant to whether family child-rearing environment is taken into account. Family child-rearing environment has both structural and predictive effects on early childhood outcomes, but they are largely orthogonal and in addition to the effects of birth weight. Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
MAMMARY GLAND DEVELOPMENT: EARLY LIFE EFFECTS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Mammary Gland Development: Early Life Effects from the Environment

S.E. Fenton. Reproductive Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, ORD, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.

As signs of precocious puberty in girls reach ...
External-environmental and internal-health early life predictors of adolescent development.

PubMed

Hartman, Sarah; Li, Zhi; Nettle, Daniel; Belsky, Jay

2017-12-01

A wealth of evidence documents associations between various aspects of the rearing environment and later development. Two evolutionary-inspired models advance explanations for why and how such early experiences shape later functioning: (a) the external-prediction model, which highlights the role of the early environment (e.g., parenting) in regulating children's development, and (b) the internal-prediction model, which emphasizes internal state (i.e., health) as the critical regulator. Thus, by using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the current project draws from both models by investigating whether the effect of the early environment on later adolescent functioning is subject to an indirect effect by internal-health variables. Results showed a significant indirect effect of internal health on the relation between the early environment and adolescent behavior. Specifically, early environmental adversity during the first 5 years of life predicted lower quality health during childhood, which then led to problematic adolescent functioning and earlier age of menarche for girls. In addition, for girls, early adversity predicted lower quality health that forecasted earlier age of menarche leading to increased adolescent risk taking. The discussion highlights the importance of integrating both internal and external models to further understand the developmental processes that effect adolescent behavior.
Early Educational Intervention, Early Cumulative Risk, and the Early Home Environment as Predictors of Young Adult Outcomes within a High-Risk Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pungello, Elizabeth P.; Kainz, Kirsten; Burchinal, Margaret; Wasik, Barbara H.; Sparling, Joseph J.; Ramey, Craig T.; Campbell, Frances A.

2010-01-01

The extent to which early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment were associated with young adult outcomes was investigated in a sample of 139 young adults (age 21) from high-risk families enrolled in randomized trials of early intervention. Positive effects of treatment were found for education attainment,…
The Bidirectional Effects of Early Poverty on Children's Reading and Home Environment Scores: Associations and Ethnic Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Kyunghee

2009-01-01

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the author reports secondary analyses that examine the bidirectional effects of the duration of early poverty on children's reading and home environment scores. The author focuses on three specific questions: (1) Does the duration of early childhood poverty affect children's reading scores…
The family environment in early childhood has a long-term effect on self-esteem: A longitudinal study from birth to age 27 years.

PubMed

Orth, Ulrich

2018-04-01

A better understanding is needed of the factors that shape the development of individual differences in self-esteem. Using a prospective longitudinal design, this research tested whether the family environment in early childhood predicts self-esteem in later developmental periods. Data came from a nationally representative U.S. sample of 8,711 participants, who reported on their self-esteem biannually from age 8 to 27 years. Moreover, during the participants' first 6 years of life, biannual assessments of their mothers provided information on the quality of the home environment (covering quality of parenting, cognitive stimulation, and physical home environment), quality of parental relationship, presence of father, maternal depression, and poverty status of the family. The analyses were conducted using nonlinear regression analyses of age-dependent correlation coefficients, which were controlled for the effects of child gender and ethnicity. The results suggested that the family environment in early childhood significantly predicted self-esteem as the children grew up. Although the effects became smaller with age, the effects were still present during young adulthood. The largest effects emerged for quality of home environment. Moreover, the results suggested that the effects of home environment, presence of father, and poverty are enduring, as indicated by a nonzero asymptote in the time course of effects from age 8 to 27 years. Finally, quality of home environment partially accounted for the effects of the other predictors. The findings suggest that the home environment is a key factor in early childhood that influences the long-term development of self-esteem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Chaotic home environment is associated with reduced infant processing speed under high task demands.

PubMed

Tomalski, Przemysław; Marczuk, Karolina; Pisula, Ewa; Malinowska, Anna; Kawa, Rafał; Niedźwiecka, Alicja

2017-08-01

Early adversity has profound long-term consequences for child development across domains. The effects of early adversity on structural and functional brain development were shown for infants under 12 months of life. However, the causal mechanisms of these effects remain relatively unexplored. Using a visual habituation task we investigated whether chaotic home environment may affect processing speed in 5.5 month-old infants (n=71). We found detrimental effects of chaos on processing speed for complex but not for simple visual stimuli. No effects of socio-economic status on infant processing speed were found although the sample was predominantly middle class. Our results indicate that chaotic early environment may adversely affect processing speed in early infancy, but only when greater cognitive resources need to be deployed. The study highlights an attractive avenue for research on the mechanisms linking home environment with the development of attention control. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Effect of the Large Scale Environment on the Internal Dynamics of Early-Type Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maubon, G.; Prugniel, Ph.

We have studied the population-density relation in very sparse environments, from poor clusters to isolated galaxies, and we find that early-type galaxies with a young stellar population are preferably found in the lowest density environments. We show a marginal indication that this effect is due to an enhancement of the stellar formation independent of the morphological segregation, but we failed to find any effect from the internal dynamics.
LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTS DURING DEVELOPMENT: EFFECTS ON ADULTHOOD IN RATS EXPOSED TO TOXICANTS OR UNDERNUTRITION IN UTERO.

EPA Science Inventory

Studies have shown correlations between in utero and early life environments and diseases later in life, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, obesity, schizophrenia, early onset chronic renal failure, cancer and compromised repro-duction. Current development...
Interactive Effects of in Utero Nutrition and Genetic Inheritance on Cognition: New Evidence Using Sibling Comparisons1

PubMed Central

Cook, C. Justin; Fletcher, Jason M.

2013-01-01

A large literature links early environments and later outcomes, such as cognition; however, little is known about the mechanisms. One potential mechanism is sensitivity to early environments that is moderated or amplified by the genotype. With this mechanism in mind, a complementary literature outside economics examines the interaction between genes and environments, but often problems of endogeneity and bias in estimation are uncorrected. A key issue in the literature is exploring environmental variation that is not exogenous, which is potentially problematic if there are gene-environment correlation or gene-gene interactions. Using sibling pairs with genetic data in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study we extend a previous, and widely cited, gene-environment study that explores an interaction between the FADS2 gene, which is associated with the processing of essential fatty acids related to cognitive development, and early life nutrition in explaining later-life IQ. Our base OLS findings suggest that individuals with specific FADS2 variants gain roughly 0.15 standard deviations in IQ for each standard deviation increase in birth weight, our measure of the early nutrition environment; while, individuals with other variants of FADS2 do not have a statistically significant association with early nutrition, implying the genotype is influencing the effects of environmental exposure. When including family-level fixed effects, however, the magnitude of the gene-environment interaction is reduced by half and statistical significance dissipates, implying the interaction between FADS2 and early nutrition in explaining later life IQ may in part be due to unobserved, family-level factors. The example has wider implications for the practice of investigating gene-environment interactions when the environmental exposure is not exogenous and robustness to unobserved variation in the genome is not controlled for in the analysis. PMID:24172871
Early Educational Intervention, Early Cumulative Risk, and the Early Home Environment as Predictors of Young Adult Outcomes Within a High-Risk Sample

PubMed Central

Pungello, Elizabeth P.; Kainz, Kirsten; Burchinal, Margaret; Wasik, Barbara H.; Sparling, Joseph J.; Ramey, Craig T.; Campbell, Frances A.

2009-01-01

The extent to which early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment were associated with young adult outcomes was investigated in a sample of 139 young adults (age 21) from high-risk families enrolled in randomized trials of early intervention. Positive effects of treatment were found for education attainment, attending college, and skilled employment; negative effects of risk were found for education attainment, graduating high school, being employed and avoiding teen parenthood. The home mediated the effects of risk for graduating high school, but not being employed or teen parenthood. Evidence for moderated mediation was found for educational attainment; the home mediated the association between risk and educational attainment for the control group, but not the treated group. PMID:20331676
Long-term fitness consequences of early environment in a long-lived ungulate

PubMed Central

Festa-Bianchet, Marco; Pelletier, Fanie

2017-01-01

Cohort effects can be a major source of heterogeneity and play an important role in population dynamics. Silver-spoon effects, when environmental quality at birth improves future performance regardless of the adult environment, can induce strong lagged responses on population growth. Alternatively, the external predictive adaptive response (PAR) hypothesis predicts that organisms will adjust their developmental trajectory and physiology during early life in anticipation of expected adult conditions but has rarely been assessed in wild species. We used over 40 years of detailed individual monitoring of bighorn ewes (Ovis canadensis) to quantify long-term cohort effects on survival and reproduction. We then tested both the silver-spoon and the PAR hypotheses. Cohort effects involved a strong interaction between birth and current environments: reproduction and survival were lowest for ewes that were born and lived at high population densities. This interaction, however, does not support the PAR hypothesis because individuals with matching high-density birth and adult environments had reduced fitness. Instead, individuals born at high density had overall lower lifetime fitness suggesting a silver-spoon effect. Early-life conditions can induce long-term changes in fitness components, and their effects on cohort fitness vary according to adult environment. PMID:28424347
Dopamine receptor gene d4 polymorphisms and early sexual onset: gender and environmental moderation in a sample of african-american youth.

PubMed

Kogan, Steven M; Lei, Man-Kit; Beach, Steven R H; Brody, Gene H; Windle, Michael; Lee, Sunbok; MacKillop, James; Chen, Yi-Fu

2014-08-01

Early sexual onset and its consequences disproportionately affect African-American youth, particularly male youth. The dopamine receptor D4 gene (DRD4) has been linked to sexual activity and other forms of appetitive behavior, particularly for male youth and in combination with environmental factors (gene × environment [G × E] effects). The differential susceptibility perspective suggests that DRD4 may exert this effect by amplifying the effects of both positive and negative environments. We hypothesized that DRD4 status would amplify the influence of both positive and negative neighborhood environments on early sexual onset among male, but not female, African-Americans. Hypotheses were tested with self-report, biospecimen, and census data from five prospective studies of male and female African-American youth in rural Georgia communities, N = 1,677. Early sexual onset was defined as intercourse before age 14. No significant G × E findings emerged for female youth. Male youth with a DRD4 long allele were more likely than those with two DRD4 short alleles to report early sexual onset in negative community environments and not to report early onset in positive community environments. Dopaminergic regulation of adolescent sexual behaviors may operate differently by gender. DRD4 operated as an environmental amplification rather than a vulnerability factor. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Effects of the level of early productivity on the lifespan of ewes in contrasting flock environments.

PubMed

Douhard, F; Jopson, N B; Friggens, N C; Amer, P R

2016-12-01

Selection for high levels of prolificacy has allowed substantial improvements in the production efficiency of New Zealand (NZ) sheep farms, but the consequences on ewe lifetime performance are mostly unknown. In this study, the relationship between the level of prolificacy early in ewes' productive lives and their probability to survive later (i.e. stayability) was evaluated in two contrasting NZ flock environments. Records were obtained from 6605 ewes from four ram breeder flocks representing either a moderate (n=2) or a highly variable (n=2) nutritional environment. All ewes lambed for the first time at 2 years of age and were mated the following year. The number of lambs born during the first 2 years of productive life (NLB2-3) was used as a measure of early prolificacy. Effects of NLB2-3 on stayability to 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 years old were analysed using logistic regression. Curvilinear effects (logit-transformed) were detected (P<0.05) until stayability to 6 years and to 8 years old in the highly variable and the moderate environment, respectively. The NLB2-3 that resulted in maximum expected stayability to various ages was 3.9 to 4.2, and 4.5 to 4.7 lambs in the highly variable and in the moderate flock environments, respectively. In addition, ewe stayability was reduced when the proportion of the litter that survived from birth to weaning (i.e. ewe rearing ability) was submaximal during the early productive life. High prolific ewes had a low rearing ability whatever the environment whereas the rearing ability of lowly prolific ewes was apparently more sensitive to the nutritional environment. The poor maternal performance of ewes with low levels of NLB2-3 led to a premature culling by breeders whereas the high early reproductive effort associated with high levels of NLB2-3 seemed to be at the cost of ewes' survival, even in the moderate flock environment. In conclusion, the flock environment influenced the level of early prolificacy beyond which ewe longevity was reduced. It is suggested that further selection for high and early prolificacy in NZ flocks is likely to impair ewes' lifetime productivity.
Analysis of the effects of early nutritional environment on inbreeding depression in Drosophila melanogaster.

PubMed

Valtonen, T M; Roff, D A; Rantala, M J

2011-01-01

The impact of nutritional deficiencies early in life in determining life-history variation in organisms is well recognized. The negative effects of inbreeding on fitness are also well known. Contrary to studies on vertebrates, studies on invertebrates are not consistent with the observation that inbreeding compromises resistance to parasites and pathogens. In this study, we investigated the effect of early nutrition on the magnitude of inbreeding depression in development time, adult body size and adult resistance to the bacterium Serratia marcescens in Drosophila melanogaster. We found that early nutritional environment had no effect on the magnitude of inbreeding depression in development time or adult body size but may have played a small role in adult resistance to the bacterial infection. Estimates of heritabilities for development time under the poor nutritional environment were larger than those measured under the standard nutritional conditions. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2010 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.
Enriching early adult environment affects the copulation behaviour of a tephritid fly.

PubMed

Díaz-Fleischer, Francisco; Arredondo, José; Aluja, Martín

2009-07-01

Early adult experiences in enriched environments favours animal brain and behavioural development ultimately resulting in an increased fitness. However, measuring the effect of environmental enrichment in animal behaviour in nature is often a complicated task, considering the complexity of the natural environment. We expanded previous studies to evaluate how early experience in an enriched environment affects copulation behaviour when animals are confronted with a complex semi-natural environment. Anastrepha ludens flies are an ideal model system for studying these effects because their natural habitats differ significantly from the cage environments in which these flies are reared for biological control purposes. For example, in the field, males form leks of up to six individuals. Each male defends a territory represented by a tree leaf whereas in rearing cages, territories are completely reduced because of the high population density. In a series of three experiments, we observed that male density represented the most influential stimulus for A. ludens male copulation success. Males that experienced lower densities in early adulthood obtained the highest proportion of copulations. By contrast, female copulation behaviour was not altered by female density. However, exposure to natural or artificial leaves in cages in which flies were kept until tested influenced female copulation behaviour. Females that were exposed to enriched environments exhibited a shorter latency to mate and shorter copulation durations with males than females reared in poor environments. We discuss the influence of early experience on male copulation success and female-mating choosiness.
Early-life nutritional effects on the female reproductive system.

PubMed

Chan, K A; Tsoulis, M W; Sloboda, D M

2015-02-01

There is now considerable epidemiological and experimental evidence indicating that early-life environmental conditions, including nutrition, affect subsequent development in later life. These conditions induce highly integrated responses in endocrine-related homeostasis, resulting in persistent changes in the developmental trajectory producing an altered adult phenotype. Early-life events trigger processes that prepare the individual for particular circumstances that are anticipated in the postnatal environment. However, where the intrauterine and postnatal environments differ markedly, such modifications to the developmental trajectory may prove maladaptive in later life. Reproductive maturation and function are similarly influenced by early-life events. This should not be surprising, because the primordial follicle pool is established early in life and is thus vulnerable to early-life events. Results of clinical and experimental studies have indicated that early-life adversity is associated with a decline in ovarian follicular reserve, changes in ovulation rates, and altered age at onset of puberty. However, the underlying mechanisms regulating the relationship between the early-life developmental environment and postnatal reproductive development and function are unclear. This review examines the evidence linking early-life nutrition and effects on the female reproductive system, bringing together clinical observations in humans and experimental data from targeted animal models. © 2015 Society for Endocrinology.

Maternal-by-environment but not genotype-by-environment interactions in a fish without parental care.

PubMed

Vega-Trejo, Regina; Head, Megan L; Jennions, Michael D; Kruuk, Loeske E B

2018-01-01

The impact of environmental conditions on the expression of genetic variance and on maternal effects variance remains an important question in evolutionary quantitative genetics. We investigate here the effects of early environment on variation in seven adult life history, morphological, and secondary sexual traits (including sperm characteristics) in a viviparous poeciliid fish, the mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki. Specifically, we manipulated food availability during early development and then assessed additive genetic and maternal effects contributions to the overall phenotypic variance in adults. We found higher heritability for female than male traits, but maternal effects variance for traits in both sexes. An interaction between maternal effects variance and rearing environment affected two adult traits (female age at maturity and male size at maturity), but there was no evidence of trade-offs in maternal effects across environments. Our results illustrate (i) the potential for pre-natal maternal effects to interact with offspring environment during development, potentially affecting traits through to adulthood and (ii) that genotype-by-environment interactions might be overestimated if maternal-by-environment interactions are not accounted for, similar to heritability being overestimated if maternal effects are ignored. We also discuss the potential for dominance genetic variance to contribute to the estimate of maternal effects variance.
Exploring direct and indirect influences of physical work environment on job satisfaction for early-career registered nurses employed in hospitals.

PubMed

Djukic, Maja; Kovner, Christine T; Brewer, Carol S; Fatehi, Farida; Greene, William H

2014-08-01

We explored direct and indirect influences of physical work environment on job satisfaction in a nationally representative sample of 1,141 early-career registered nurses. In the fully specified model, physical work environment had a non-significant direct effect on job satisfaction. The path analysis used to test multiple indirect effects showed that physical work environment had a positive indirect effect (p < .05) on job satisfaction through ten variables: negative affectivity, variety, workgroup cohesion, nurse-physician relations, quantitative workload, organizational constraints, distributive justice, promotional opportunity, local and non-local job opportunities. The findings make important contributions to the understanding of the relationship between physical work environment and job satisfaction. The results can inform health care leaders' insight about how physical work environment influences nurses' job satisfaction. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effects of early developmental conditions on innate immunity are only evident under favourable adult conditions in zebra finches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Coster, Greet; Verhulst, Simon; Koetsier, Egbert; de Neve, Liesbeth; Briga, Michael; Lens, Luc

2011-12-01

Long-term effects of unfavourable conditions during development can be expected to depend on the quality of the environment experienced by the same individuals during adulthood. Yet, in the majority of studies, long-term effects of early developmental conditions have been assessed under favourable adult conditions only. The immune system might be particularly vulnerable to early environmental conditions as its development, maintenance and use are thought to be energetically costly. Here, we studied the interactive effects of favourable and unfavourable conditions during nestling and adult stages on innate immunity (lysis and agglutination scores) of captive male and female zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata). Nestling environmental conditions were manipulated by a brood size experiment, while a foraging cost treatment was imposed on the same individuals during adulthood. This combined treatment showed that innate immunity of adult zebra finches is affected by their early developmental conditions and varies between both sexes. Lysis scores, but not agglutination scores, were higher in individuals raised in small broods and in males. However, these effects were only present in birds that experienced low foraging costs. This study shows that the quality of the adult environment may shape the long-term consequences of early developmental conditions on innate immunity, as long-term effects of nestling environment were only evident under favourable adult conditions.
Children's Storytelling: The Effect of Preschool and Family Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fekonja-Peklaj, Urska; Marjanovic-Umek, Ljubica; Kranjc, Simona

2010-01-01

Storytelling reflects children's pragmatic language ability, which develops rapidly in early childhood and is related to various characteristics of the child's environment. This study examines the effect of preschool, maternal education and quality of the home environment on children's storytelling skills. The sample included 229 Slovenian…
The Complete Learning Spaces Book for Infants and Toddlers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isbell, Rebecca; Isbell, Christy

Based on the view that the early childhood care and education environment can have a tremendous influence on infant and toddler development, this book will assist early childhood teachers/caregivers in meeting the challenge of creating an effective learning environment for infants and toddlers. The book includes ideas for planning, using, and…
Environment effects for earliness and grain yield traits in F1 diallel populations of maize (Zea mays L.).

PubMed

Ali, Sardar; Khan, Naqib Ullah; Khalil, Iftikhar Hussain; Iqbal, Muhammad; Gul, Samrin; Ahmed, Sheraz; Ali, Naushad; Sajjad, Mohammad; Afridi, Khilwat; Ali, Imtiaz; Khan, Shah Masaud

2017-10-01

Five maize inbred lines, 20 F 1 diallel hybrids and two check genotypes were evaluated through genotype × environment interaction (GEI) and GGE biplot for earliness and yield traits at four locations. Genotype, environment and GEI showed highly significant differences for all the traits. In total sum of squares, environment and genotype played a primary role, followed by GEI. Larger effects of environment and genotype to total variation influence the earliness and yield traits. However, according to the GGE biplot, the first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) explained 95% of the variation caused by GEI. GGE biplot confirmed the differential response of genotypes across environments. F 1 hybrid SWAJK-1 × FRHW-3 had better stability, with a good yield, and was considered an ideal genotype. F 1 hybrid FRHW-2 × FRHW-1 showed more earliness at CCRI and Haripur, followed by PSEV3 × FRHW-2 and its reciprocal at Swat and Mansehra, respectively. F 1 hybrids FRHW-1 × SWAJK-1, PSEV3 × SWAJK-1 and SWAJK-1 × FRHW-3 at Mansehra and Swat produced maximum grain yield, followed by SWAJK-1 × FRHW-1 and PSEV3 × FRHW-1 at Haripur and CCRI, respectively. Overall, maize genotypes showed early maturity in plain areas (CCRI and Haripur) but higher yield in hilly areas (Mansehra and Swat). © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
Early-life experience affects honey bee aggression and resilience to immune challenge

PubMed Central

Rittschof, Clare C.; Coombs, Chelsey B.; Frazier, Maryann; Grozinger, Christina M.; Robinson, Gene E.

2015-01-01

Early-life social experiences cause lasting changes in behavior and health for a variety of animals including humans, but it is not well understood how social information ‘‘gets under the skin’’ resulting in these effects. Adult honey bees (Apis mellifera) exhibit socially coordinated collective nest defense, providing a model for social modulation of aggressive behavior. Here we report for the first time that a honey bee’s early-life social environment has lasting effects on individual aggression: bees that experienced high-aggression environments during pre-adult stages showed increased aggression when they reached adulthood relative to siblings that experienced low-aggression environments, even though all bees were kept in a common environment during adulthood. Unlike other animals including humans however, high-aggression honey bees were more, rather than less, resilient to immune challenge, assessed as neonicotinoid pesticide susceptibility. Moreover, aggression was negatively correlated with ectoparasitic mite presence. In honey bees, early-life social experience has broad effects, but increased aggression is decoupled from negative health outcomes. Because honey bees and humans share aspects of their physiological response to aggressive social encounters, our findings represent a step towards identifying ways to improve individual resiliency. Pre-adult social experience may be crucial to the health of the ecologically threatened honey bee. PMID:26493190
Differential Effects of Home and Preschool Learning Environments on Early Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmerse, Daniel; Anders, Yvonne; Flöter, Manja; Wieduwilt, Nadine; Roßbach, Hans-Günther; Tietze, Wolfgang

2018-01-01

The present study is based on longitudinal data from a German early childhood education and care (ECEC) governmental initiative assessing children's grammatical and vocabulary development between 2;6 and 4;0 years (N = 1,331), quality of the home learning environment and quality of the preschool setting. Results showed that the quality of the home…
A Socio-Cultural Perspective on Children's Early Language: A Family Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marjanovic-Umek, Ljubica; Fekonja-Peklaj, Urška; Socan, Gregor; Tašner, Veronika

2015-01-01

This study examines the effect of certain socio-cultural factors of the family environment on the language of toddlers and children in early childhood. The sample included 86 families with one- to six-year-old children. The data on the social, economic, and cultural factors of the family environment, parental reading literacy, parental knowledge…
Do Early Childhood Programs Have Lasting Effects on Children? Evaluation Science Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation, 2008

2008-01-01

"Evaluation Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study evaluating the effects of an early childhood program or environment. This Brief evaluates the study "Early Intervention in Low Birthweight Premature Infants: Results at 18 Years of Age for the Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP)" (M.C. McCormick, J.…
Conference on Early Mars: Geologic and Hydrologic Evolution, Physical and Chemical Environments, and the Implications for Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clifford, S. M. (Editor); Treiman, A. H. (Editor); Newsom, H. E. (Editor); Farmer, J. D. (Editor)

1997-01-01

Topics considered include: Geology alteration and life in an extreme environment; developing a chemical code to identify magnetic biominerals; effect of impacts on early Martin geologic evolution; spectroscopic identification of minerals in Hematite-bearing soils and sediments; exopaleontology and the search for a Fossil record on Mars; geochemical evolution of the crust of Mars; geological evolution of the early earth;solar-wind-induced erosion of the Mars atmosphere. Also included geological evolution of the crust of Mars.
Social environment influences the relationship between genotype and gene expression in wild baboons

PubMed Central

Runcie, Daniel E.; Wiedmann, Ralph T.; Archie, Elizabeth A.; Altmann, Jeanne; Wray, Gregory A.; Alberts, Susan C.; Tung, Jenny

2013-01-01

Variation in the social environment can have profound effects on survival and reproduction in wild social mammals. However, we know little about the degree to which these effects are influenced by genetic differences among individuals, and conversely, the degree to which social environmental variation mediates genetic reaction norms. To better understand these relationships, we investigated the potential for dominance rank, social connectedness and group size to modify the effects of genetic variation on gene expression in the wild baboons of the Amboseli basin. We found evidence for a number of gene–environment interactions (GEIs) associated with variation in the social environment, encompassing social environments experienced in adulthood as well as persistent effects of early life social environment. Social connectedness, maternal dominance rank and group size all interacted with genotype to influence gene expression in at least one sex, and either in early life or in adulthood. These results suggest that social and behavioural variation, akin to other factors such as age and sex, can impact the genotype–phenotype relationship. We conclude that GEIs mediated by the social environment are important in the evolution and maintenance of individual differences in wild social mammals, including individual differences in responses to social stressors. PMID:23569293
Physical Environmental Adversity and the Protective Role of Maternal Monitoring in Relation to Early Child Conduct Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Supplee, Lauren H.; Unikel, Emily B.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2007-01-01

Research on the development of externalizing behaviors during early childhood has focused on child and parenting factors. Fewer studies have investigated effects of aversive features of the micro-level physical environment, such as overcrowding and chaos in the home, and the macro-level environment, such as neighborhood quality. This study extends…
Home Environment Quality Mediates the Effects of an Early Intervention on Children's Social-Emotional Development in Rural Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Finch, Jenna E.; Obradovic, Jelena; Yousafzai, Aisha

2016-01-01

Over 200 million children under the age of 5 are not fulfilling their developmental potential due to poverty, poor health, and lack of cognitive stimulation. Experiences in early childhood have long term-effects on brain development and thus the cognitive and social-emotional skills that promote children's school success. Further, early childhood…
The Effects of Prenatal and Early-Postnatal Exposure to Mexico's "Oportunidades" on Long-Term Cognitive Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanchez, Alonso

2016-01-01

It is well established that children's early life environments can have significant consequences on their long-term outcomes. Yet, there is still limited empirical evidence on the effects that being exposed during the prenatal and early postnatal periods to positive shocks, such as conditional cash transfers, has on long-term cognitive function.…
Reducing Risk for Substance Use by Economically Disadvantaged Young Men: Positive Family Environments and Pathways to Educational Attainment

PubMed Central

Martin, Monica J.; Conger, Rand D.; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Masarik, April S.; Forbes, Erika E.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Using prospective, longitudinal data spanning 10 years (age 10 to 20) from a study of 295 economically disadvantaged males, the current investigation evaluated a developmental model that links early family environment and later educational aspirations, extracurricular activities, and educational attainment to substance use in early adulthood. The results indicate that a positive family environment during adolescence (low family conflict, high family warmth, and effective child management) predicted educational involvements during adolescence that promoted educational attainment during early adulthood. Finally, higher levels of educational attainment were associated with less substance use in early adulthood, even after controlling for adolescent substance use. These findings suggest that positive parenting promotes educational achievements that increase resilience to substance use for economically disadvantaged males. PMID:26307026
Are College Students' Assessments of Threat Shaped by the Dangers of Their Childhood Environment?

PubMed

Sherman, Amanda K; Minich, Steven H; Langen, Tom A; Skufca, Joseph; Wilke, Andreas

2016-07-01

Humans internalize environmental cues of mortality risk at an early age, which influences subsequent risk perceptions and behavior. In this respect, an individual's current risk assessment may be viewed as an adaptive response to the dangers present within his or her early local environment. Here we examine the relationship between several variables indicating threat within an individual's early environment (e.g., prevalence of violent and property crimes, registered sex offenders) and their perception of crime risk within both the childhood and current adult environments. We recruited a group of 657 students who hail from diverse geographic backgrounds to provide the zip code location of their childhood residence along with subjective ratings of danger of that and their current location, which enabled us to compare their ratings of risk/danger with the federally reported crime statistics of each setting. Our results indicate that the early prevalence of registered sex offenders indeed influences an individual's risk perception in adulthood, and that these factors have a differential effect on males and females. Our findings provide support for the theory that early environmental factors signaling danger affect how individuals assess risk within their adult environment. © The Author(s) 2015.
Early intervention for vulnerable infants and their families: an emerging agenda.

PubMed

Kruskal, M O; Thomasgard, M C; Shonkoff, J P

1989-12-01

Early childhood development is a complex dynamic process that begins at birth and unfolds in a transactional manner as infants interact with their environment. Children are highly adaptive organisms with powerful homeostatic mechanisms; consequently, most high-risk infants do well. Environmental factors are powerful mediators in this process, and a supportive and responsive environment may alleviate many early developmental insults, while a deficient environment can exacerbate developmental weaknesses. Available data suggest that appropriately designed early intervention services can be effective in facilitating both child and family adaptation for a variety of target groups. However, many important questions remain unanswered. For example, although interventions have been shown to improve cognitive function, effects in other important areas such as social and emotional functioning and family coping have not been well studied. Information about the impact of family variables is also incomplete as is our knowledge about which services work best for which children and families. Finally, the influence of protective factors in the child and in the environment requires further exploration. The perinatologist can make several critical contributions to the comprehensive care of high risk infants beyond their medical management. He or she can play a pivotal role in identifying those neonates who need early intervention on the basis of their biologic vulnerability, their environmental risk factors, or both. Perinatologists are also in the best position to facilitate early entry into an appropriate service system and can be important collaborators in providing comprehensive services and long-term follow-up.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Developmental Constraints in a Wild Primate

PubMed Central

Lea, Amanda J.; Altmann, Jeanne; Alberts, Susan C.; Tung, Jenny

2015-01-01

Early-life experiences can dramatically affect adult traits. However, the evolutionary origins of such early-life effects are debated. The predictive adaptive response hypothesis argues that adverse early environments prompt adaptive phenotypic adjustments that prepare animals for similar challenges in adulthood. In contrast, the developmental constraints hypothesis argues that early adversity is generally costly. To differentiate between these hypotheses, we studied two sets of wild female baboons: those born during low-rainfall, low-quality years and those born during normal-rainfall, high-quality years. For each female, we measured fertility-related fitness components during years in adulthood that matched and mismatched her early conditions. We found support for the developmental constraints hypothesis: females born in low-quality environments showed greater decreases in fertility during drought years than females born in high-quality environments, even though drought years matched the early conditions of females born in low-quality environments. Additionally, we found that females born in low-quality years to high-status mothers did not experience reduced fertility during drought years. These results indicate that early ecological adversity did not prepare individuals to cope with ecological challenges in later life. Instead, individuals that experienced at least one high-quality early environment—either ecological or social—were more resilient to ecological stress in later life. Together, these data suggest that early adversity carries lifelong costs, which is consistent with the developmental constraints hypothesis. PMID:25996865
Gene-Environment Interplay in the Association between Pubertal Timing and Delinquency in Adolescent Girls

PubMed Central

Harden, K. Paige; Mendle, Jane

2014-01-01

Early pubertal timing places girls at elevated risk for a breadth of negative outcomes, including involvement in delinquent behavior. While previous developmental research has emphasized the unique social challenges faced by early maturing girls, this relation is complicated by genetic influences for both delinquent behavior and pubertal timing, which are seldom controlled for in existing research. The current study uses genetically informed data on 924 female-female twin and sibling pairs drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to (1) disentangle biological versus environmental mechanisms for the effects of early pubertal timing and (2) test for gene-environment interactions. Results indicate that early pubertal timing influences girls’ delinquency through a complex interplay between biological risk and environmental experiences. Genes related to earlier age at menarche and higher perceived development significantly predict increased involvement in both non-violent and violent delinquency. Moreover, after accounting for this genetic association between pubertal timing and delinquency, the impact of non-shared environmental influences on delinquency are significantly moderated by pubertal timing, such that the non-shared environment is most important among early maturing girls. This interaction effect is particularly evident for non-violent delinquency. Overall, results suggest early maturing girls are vulnerable to an interaction between genetic and environmental risks for delinquent behavior. PMID:21668078

Probiotic legacy on gut microbial assembly in fish larvae

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Considerable efforts have been put into developing effective strategies for establishing beneficial interactions between a host and its microbiota. Early contact of fish with bacteria from their environment and its effect on early colonization in the gut has been studied in the past years. However, ...
Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades That Support Teacher and Student Success: Profiles of Effective Practices in Three Expanded Learning Time Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farbman, David A.; Novoryta, Ami

2016-01-01

In "Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades that Support Teacher and Student Success," the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) profiles three expanded-time elementary schools that leverage a longer school day to better serve young students. In particular, the report describes how a longer day opens up opportunities…
The star formation history of early-type galaxies as a function of mass and environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clemens, M. S.; Bressan, A.; Nikolic, B.; Alexander, P.; Annibali, F.; Rampazzo, R.

2006-08-01

Using the third data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we have rigorously defined a volume-limited sample of early-type galaxies in the redshift range 0.005 < z <= 0.1. We have defined the density of the local environment for each galaxy using a method which takes account of the redshift bias introduced by survey boundaries if traditional methods are used. At luminosities greater than our absolute r-band magnitude cut-off of -20.45, the mean density of environment shows no trend with redshift. We calculate the Lick indices for the entire sample and correct for aperture effects and velocity dispersion in a model-independent way. Although we find no dependence of redshift or luminosity on environment, we do find that the mean velocity dispersion, σ, of early-type galaxies in dense environments tends to be higher than in low-density environments. Taking account of this effect, we find that several indices show small but very significant trends with environment that are not the result of the correlation between indices and velocity dispersion. The statistical significance of the data is sufficiently high to reveal that models accounting only for α-enhancement struggle to produce a consistent picture of age and metallicity of the sample galaxies, whereas a model that also includes carbon enhancement fares much better. We find that early-type galaxies in the field are younger than those in environments typical of clusters but that neither metallicity, α-enhancement nor carbon enhancement are influenced by the environment. The youngest early-type galaxies in both field and cluster environments are those with the lowest σ. However, there is some evidence that the objects with the largest σ are slightly younger, especially in denser environments. Independent of environment both the metallicity and α-enhancement grow monotonically with σ. This suggests that the typical length of the star formation episodes which formed the stars of early-type galaxies decreases with σ. More massive galaxies were formed in faster bursts. We argue that the timing of the process of formation of early-type galaxies is determined by the environment, while the details of the process of star formation, which has built up the stellar mass, are entirely regulated by the halo mass. These results suggest that the star formation took place after the mass assembly and favours an anti-hierarchical model. In such a model, the majority of the mergers must take place before the bulk of the stars form. This can only happen if there exists an efficient feedback mechanism which inhibits the star formation in low-mass haloes and is progressively reduced as mergers increase the mass.
Syllabic Patterns in the Early Vocalizations of Quichua Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gildersleeve-Neumann, Christina E.; Davis, Barbara L.; Macneilage, Peter F.

2013-01-01

To understand the interactions between production patterns common to children regardless of language environment and the early appearance of production effects based on perceptual learning from the ambient language requires the study of languages with diverse phonological properties. Few studies have evaluated early phonological acquisition…
Buffering boys and boosting girls: The protective and promotive effects of Early Head Start for children’s expressive language in the context of parenting stress

PubMed Central

Vallotton, C. D.; Harewood, T.; Ayoub, C. A.; Pan, B.; Mastergeorge, A. M.; Brophy-Herb, H.

2011-01-01

Children’s characteristics, including gender, influence their development by eliciting differential responses from their environments, and by influencing differential responses to their environments. Parenting-related stress, associated with poverty environments, negatively influences children’s language, likely through its impact on parent-child interactions, but may impact boys’ and girls’ development differently. Early intervention represents one tool for supporting development in at-risk toddlers, but gender-differences in effects of intervention are rarely described. The current studies assessed the effects of Early Head Start (EHS) on children’s productive vocabulary in the context of parenting stress and examined gender differences in program effects on vocbulary. Data were from the national EHS Research and Evaluation (EHSRE) study (Study 1, N = 3,001), and from a dataset associated with one EHSRE site (Study 2, N = 146) where additional data on productive vocabulary were collected. Study 1 found that at 24 months of age, the EHS program protected girls’ productive vocabulary from the negative effects of parenting stress, but had little impact on boys’ vocabulary. In Study 2, the local EHS site promoted girls’ vocabulary development over time from 14 to 36 months despite the negative effects of parenting stress, and protected boys’ vocabulary from the negative parenting stress effects. These results suggest differential ways in which at-risk toddlers are affected by early intervention. PMID:23166405
The ultraviolet environment of Mars: biological implications past, present, and future.

PubMed

Cockell, C S; Catling, D C; Davis, W L; Snook, K; Kepner, R L; Lee, P; McKay, C P

2000-08-01

A radiative transfer model is used to quantitatively investigate aspects of the martian ultraviolet radiation environment, past and present. Biological action spectra for DNA inactivation and chloroplast (photosystem) inhibition are used to estimate biologically effective irradiances for the martian surface under cloudless skies. Over time Mars has probably experienced an increasingly inhospitable photobiological environment, with present instantaneous DNA weighted irradiances 3.5-fold higher than they may have been on early Mars. This is in contrast to the surface of Earth, which experienced an ozone amelioration of the photobiological environment during the Proterozoic and now has DNA weighted irradiances almost three orders of magnitude lower than early Earth. Although the present-day martian UV flux is similar to that of early Earth and thus may not be a critical limitation to life in the evolutionary context, it is a constraint to an unadapted biota and will rapidly kill spacecraft-borne microbes not covered by a martian dust layer. Microbial strategies for protection against UV radiation are considered in the light of martian photobiological calculations, past and present. Data are also presented for the effects of hypothetical planetary atmospheric manipulations on the martian UV radiation environment with estimates of the biological consequences of such manipulations.
The ultraviolet environment of Mars: biological implications past, present, and future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cockell, C. S.; Catling, D. C.; Davis, W. L.; Snook, K.; Kepner, R. L.; Lee, P.; McKay, C. P.

2000-01-01

A radiative transfer model is used to quantitatively investigate aspects of the martian ultraviolet radiation environment, past and present. Biological action spectra for DNA inactivation and chloroplast (photosystem) inhibition are used to estimate biologically effective irradiances for the martian surface under cloudless skies. Over time Mars has probably experienced an increasingly inhospitable photobiological environment, with present instantaneous DNA weighted irradiances 3.5-fold higher than they may have been on early Mars. This is in contrast to the surface of Earth, which experienced an ozone amelioration of the photobiological environment during the Proterozoic and now has DNA weighted irradiances almost three orders of magnitude lower than early Earth. Although the present-day martian UV flux is similar to that of early Earth and thus may not be a critical limitation to life in the evolutionary context, it is a constraint to an unadapted biota and will rapidly kill spacecraft-borne microbes not covered by a martian dust layer. Microbial strategies for protection against UV radiation are considered in the light of martian photobiological calculations, past and present. Data are also presented for the effects of hypothetical planetary atmospheric manipulations on the martian UV radiation environment with estimates of the biological consequences of such manipulations.
Early experiences matter: a review of the effects of prenatal environment on offspring characteristics in poultry.

PubMed

Dixon, L M; Sparks, N H C; Rutherford, K M D

2016-03-01

Early life experiences can be important in determining offspring phenotypes and may influence interaction with the environment and hence health, welfare, and productivity. The prenatal environment of poultry can be divided into the pre-lay environment and the egg storage/incubation environment, both of which can affect offspring outcomes. The ability to separate maternal and egg/incubation effects makes birds well suited to this type of research. There are many factors, including feeding and nutrition, environmental conditions, husbandry practices, housing system, social environment, infectious environment, and maternal health status, that can influence both the health and performance and behavior and cognition of the offspring. There are some aspects of the environments that can be changed to produce beneficial effects in the offspring, like addition of certain additives to feed or short changes in incubation temperatures, while other aspects should be avoided to reduce negative effects, such as unpredictable feeding and lighting regimens. Measures of offspring characteristics may prove to be a useful method of assessing parent stock welfare if known stressors result in predictable offspring outcomes. This has the advantage of assessing the parent environment without interfering with the animals and possibly affecting their responses and could lead to improved welfare for the animals. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Poultry Science Association.
High-O2, low-CO2 atmosphere on early Mars inferred from manganese oxide deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sekine, Y.; Imanura, S.; Noda, N.; Takahashi, Y.; Uesugi, S.; Kurisu, M.; Hartmann, J.

2017-12-01

The atmospheric composition and its redox state are central to understanding of geochemical cycles, aqueous environment, and habitability on early Mars. Findings of manganese (Mn) oxide deposits together with some trace metals (e.g., Zn and Ni) by the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers suggest a more oxidizing surface environments on early Mars, possibly with higher amount of O2, than in the present day [Lanza et al., 2016; Arvidson et al., 2016; Hurowitz et al., 2017]. However, the abundance and formation mechanism of O2 have been poorly constrained. In the present study, we report results of laboratory experiments to constrain the redox state of the aqueous environment and atmospheric composition responsible for formation of the Mn oxides on early Mars. Our results of scavenging pattern of trace metals show that the Mn oxides found by the rovers are MnO2, which requires highly oxidizing water (Eh > 0.4 V at pH 7-8) and high atmospheric O2 (> a few mbar) for deposition. We suggest that a low-CO2 condition are also required to prevent formation of Mn carbonate in the aqueous environments. We suggest a low CO2/O2 atmosphere, e.g., CO2/O2 < 1, on early Mars at the time of deposition. This in turn implies that O2 would not have been derived mainly from CO2 photolysis and may require more effective paths (e.g., H2O photolysis and effective atmospheric escape) for producing O2 in the very early stage of Mars' history.
Effects of Early and Recent Maternal Employment on Children from Low-Income Families.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vandell, Deborah Lowe; Ramanan, Janaki

1992-01-01

Early (during the child's first three years) and recent (during the previous three years) maternal employment were associated with less family poverty and higher scores on measures of home environment. Early maternal employment predicted second grade children's math achievement, and recent maternal employment predicted their reading achievement.…
Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings: Creating a Place for All Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hart Bell, Susan; Carr, Victoria W.; Denno, Dawn; Johnson, Lawrence J.; Phillips, Louise R.

2004-01-01

Learn to manage a wide range of challenging behaviors in early childhood settings with this strategy-filled resource for teachers and other professionals. Based on the latest research and the authors' classroom experience, the book helps early childhood teams assess the classroom environment and link effective behavioral interventions to…
Principle-Centered Leadership in Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carr, Victoria; Johnson, Lawrence J.; Corkwell, Connie

2009-01-01

One of the most important aspects of any early childhood setting is the quality of its leadership. Leaders set the tone and are critical to the development of a nurturing environment that supports families and staff, who then encourage children to flourish. A principle-centered leadership approach is an effective model for early childhood…
Low oxygen tension enhances endothelial fate of human pluripotent stem cells.

PubMed

Kusuma, Sravanti; Peijnenburg, Elizabeth; Patel, Parth; Gerecht, Sharon

2014-04-01

A critical regulator of the developing or regenerating vasculature is low oxygen tension. Precise elucidation of the role of low oxygen environments on endothelial commitment from human pluripotent stem cells necessitates controlled in vitro differentiation environments. We used a feeder-free, 2-dimensional differentiation system in which we could monitor accurately dissolved oxygen levels during human pluripotent stem cell differentiation toward early vascular cells (EVCs). We found that oxygen uptake rate of differentiating human pluripotent stem cells is lower in 5% O2 compared with atmospheric conditions. EVCs differentiated in 5% O2 had an increased vascular endothelial cadherin expression with clusters of vascular endothelial cadherin+ cells surrounded by platelet-derived growth factor β+ cells. When we assessed the temporal effects of low oxygen differentiation environments, we determined that low oxygen environments during the early stages of EVC differentiation enhance endothelial lineage commitment. EVCs differentiated in 5% O2 exhibited an increased expression of vascular endothelial cadherin and CD31 along with their localization to the membrane, enhanced lectin binding and acetylated low-density lipoprotein uptake, rapid cord-like structure formation, and increased expression of arterial endothelial cell markers. Inhibition of reactive oxygen species generation during the early stages of differentiation abrogated the endothelial inductive effects of the low oxygen environments. Low oxygen tension during early stages of EVC derivation induces endothelial commitment and maturation through the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, highlighting the importance of regulating oxygen tensions during human pluripotent stem cell-vascular differentiation.
Effects of undernourishment, recurrent seizures and enriched environment during early life in hippocampal morphology.

PubMed

Alvarez, Paula Steffen; Simão, Fabrício; Hemb, Marta; Xavier, Léder Leal; Nunes, Magda Lahorgue

2014-04-01

It has been recently shown that enriched environment led to a significant benefit in learning and retention of visual-spatial memory, being able to reverse the cognitive impairment generated by undernourishment and recurrent seizures. We investigated the hippocampal morphological effects of recurrent seizures and undernourishment early in life in Wistar rats and the possible benefits produced by the enriched environment in these conditions. The morphological parameters stereologically evaluated were hippocampal volume, thickness of pyramidal stratum of the CA1 subfield and neuronal and glial densities in the same subfield. Male Wistar rats were divided into eight groups including nourished, nourished+enriched environment, nourished+recurrent seizures, nourished+recurrent seizures+enriched environment, undernourished, undernourished+enriched environment, undernourished+recurrent seizures and undernourished+recurrent seizures+enriched environment. Undernourishment model consisted in nutritional deprivation regimen from post-natal day 2 (P2) to P15. From P8 to P10, recurrent seizures group were induced by flurothyl three times per day. Enriched environment groups were exposed between P21 and P51. Our main findings were: (1) animals submitted to the enriched environment showed an increased hippocampal volume; (2) enriched environment promotes increases in the thickness of the pyramidal layer in hippocampal CA1 subfield in animals nourished and undernourished with recurrent seizures; (3) undernourishment during early development decreased neuronal density in CA1 and CA3 subfields. Our findings show that these three conditions induces important changes in hippocampal morphology, the most deleterious changes are induced by undernourishment and recurrent seizures, while more beneficial morphological changes are produced by enriched environment. Copyright © 2014 ISDN. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Gene–environment interplay in Drosophila melanogaster: Chronic food deprivation in early life affects adult exploratory and fitness traits

PubMed Central

Burns, James Geoffrey; Svetec, Nicolas; Rowe, Locke; Mery, Frederic; Dolan, Michael J.; Boyce, W. Thomas; Sokolowski, Marla B.

2012-01-01

Early life adversity has known impacts on adult health and behavior, yet little is known about the gene–environment interactions (GEIs) that underlie these consequences. We used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to show that chronic early nutritional adversity interacts with rover and sitter allelic variants of foraging (for) to affect adult exploratory behavior, a phenotype that is critical for foraging, and reproductive fitness. Chronic nutritional adversity during adulthood did not affect rover or sitter adult exploratory behavior; however, early nutritional adversity in the larval period increased sitter but not rover adult exploratory behavior. Increasing for gene expression in the mushroom bodies, an important center of integration in the fly brain, changed the amount of exploratory behavior exhibited by sitter adults when they did not experience early nutritional adversity but had no effect in sitters that experienced early nutritional adversity. Manipulation of the larval nutritional environment also affected adult reproductive output of sitters but not rovers, indicating GEIs on fitness itself. The natural for variants are an excellent model to examine how GEIs underlie the biological embedding of early experience. PMID:23045644
Stress responsiveness and anxiety-like behavior: The early social environment differentially shapes stability over time in a small rodent.

PubMed

Sangenstedt, Susanne; Jaljuli, Iman; Sachser, Norbert; Kaiser, Sylvia

2017-04-01

The early social environment can profoundly affect behavioral and physiological phenotypes. We investigated how male wild cavy offspring, whose mothers had either lived in a stable (SE) or an unstable social environment (UE) during pregnancy and lactation, differed in their anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness. At two different time points in life, we tested the offspring's anxiety-like behavior in a dark-light test and their endocrine reaction to challenge in a cortisol reactivity test. Furthermore, we analyzed whether individual traits remained stable over time. There was no effect of the early social environment on anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness. However, at an individual level, anxiety-like behavior was stable over time in UE- but not in SE-sons. Stress responsiveness, in turn, was rather inconsistent in UE-sons and temporally stable in SE-sons. Conclusively, we showed for the first time that the early social environment differentially shapes the stability of behavioral and endocrine traits. At first glance, these results may be surprising, but they can be explained by the different functions anxiety-like behavior and stress responsiveness have. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Birthweight-discordance and differences in early parenting relate to monozygotic twin differences in behaviour problems and academic achievement at age 7.

PubMed

Asbury, Kathryn; Dunn, Judith F; Plomin, Robert

2006-03-01

This longitudinal monozygotic (MZ) twin differences study explored associations between birthweight and early family environment and teacher-rated behaviour problems and academic achievement at age 7. MZ differences in anxiety, hyperactivity, conduct problems, peer problems and academic achievement correlated significantly with MZ differences in birthweight and early family environment, showing effect sizes of up to 2%. As predicted by earlier research, associations increased at the extremes of discordance, even in a longitudinal, cross-rater design, with effect sizes reaching as high as 12%. As with previous research some of these non-shared environmental (NSE) relationships appeared to operate partly as a function of SES, family chaos and maternal depression. Higher-risk families generally showed stronger negative associations.
Effects of early comprehensive interventions on child neurodevelopment in poor rural areas of China: a moderated mediation analysis.

PubMed

Liu, S; Wang, Z; Zhao, C; Huang, X; Liang, X; Wang, X; Lu, S; Scherpbier, R W

2018-06-01

To examine the effects of early comprehensive interventions on home environment and child neurodevelopment among children younger than 3 years in poor rural areas of China, as well as the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms. Non-randomized intervention study was conducted among 216 children aged 0-3 years in Shanxi province of China. Based on a 2 × 2 factor design, children in Lin and Fenxi County were assigned to an intervention group with duration less than 1 year (n = 26) or an intervention group with duration longer than 1 year (n = 82), while children in Fangshan County served as a control group with duration less than 1 year (n = 30) or a control group with duration longer than 1 year (n = 78). The control group received national public health services (NPHS), while the intervention group received NPHS plus comprehensive interventions covering health, nutrition, early psychosocial stimulation, and child protection. Home environment (Infant-Toddler Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment [HOME]) and child neurodevelopment (Ages and Stages Questionnaire [ASQ]) were measured by observation and interview with mothers after the intervention program. The intervention group showed significantly higher overall HOME, organization, learning materials, and involvement than the control group, only for a duration longer than 1 year. Children in the intervention group performed better in overall ASQ, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal-social than children in the control group. Moderated mediation analyses indicated that there were significantly indirect effects of treatment on overall ASQ through overall HOME, organization, and involvement only when the duration was longer than 1 year. Early comprehensive interventions longer than 1 year improve home environment and promote child neurodevelopment among children younger than 3 years in poor rural areas. What is more, effects of early comprehensive interventions longer than 1 year on child neurodevelopment were mediated by home environment. Copyright © 2018 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Prolonged Institutional Rearing Is Associated with Atypically Large Amygdala Volume and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tottenham, Nim; Hare, Todd A.; Quinn, Brian T.; McCarry, Thomas W.; Nurse, Marcella; Gilhooly, Tara; Millner, Alexander; Galvan, Adriana; Davidson, Matthew C.; Eigsti, Inge-Marie; Thomas, Kathleen M.; Freed, Peter J.; Booma, Elizabeth S.; Gunnar, Megan R.; Altemus, Margaret; Aronson, Jane; Casey, B. J.

2010-01-01

Early adversity, for example poor caregiving, can have profound effects on emotional development. Orphanage rearing, even in the best circumstances, lies outside of the bounds of a species-typical caregiving environment. The long-term effects of this early adversity on the neurobiological development associated with socio-emotional behaviors are…
Towards an understanding of the role of the environment in the development of early callous behavior

PubMed Central

Waller, Rebecca; Shaw, Daniel S.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Ganiban, Jody M.; Natsuaki, Misaki N.; Reiss, David; Trentacosta, Christopher; Leve, Leslie D.; Hyde, Luke W.

2015-01-01

Key to understanding the long-term impact of social inequalities is identifying early behaviors that may signal higher risk for later poor psychosocial outcomes, such as psychopathology. A set of early-emerging characteristics that may signal risk for later externalizing psychopathology is Callous-Unemotional (CU) behavior. CU behavior predict severe and chronic trajectories of externalizing behaviors in youth. However, much research on CU behavior has focused on late childhood and adolescence, with little attention paid to early childhood when preventative interventions may be most effective. In this paper, we summarize our recent work showing that: (1) CU behavior can be identified in early childhood using items from common behavior checklists; (2) CU behavior predicts worse outcomes across early childhood; (3) CU behavior exhibits a distinct nomological network from other early externalizing behaviors; and (4) malleable environmental factors, particularly parenting, may play a role in the development of early CU behaviors. We discuss the challenges of studying contextual contributors to the development of CU behavior in terms of gene-environment correlations and present initial results from work examining CU behavior in an adoption study in which gene-environment correlations are examined in early childhood. We find that parenting is a predictor of early CU behavior even in a sample in which parents are not genetically related to the children. PMID:26291075

The evolution of predictive adaptive responses in human life history

PubMed Central

Nettle, Daniel; Frankenhuis, Willem E.; Rickard, Ian J.

2013-01-01

Many studies in humans have shown that adverse experience in early life is associated with accelerated reproductive timing, and there is comparative evidence for similar effects in other animals. There are two different classes of adaptive explanation for associations between early-life adversity and accelerated reproduction, both based on the idea of predictive adaptive responses (PARs). According to external PAR hypotheses, early-life adversity provides a ‘weather forecast’ of the environmental conditions into which the individual will mature, and it is adaptive for the individual to develop an appropriate phenotype for this anticipated environment. In internal PAR hypotheses, early-life adversity has a lasting negative impact on the individual's somatic state, such that her health is likely to fail more rapidly as she gets older, and there is an advantage to adjusting her reproductive schedule accordingly. We use a model of fluctuating environments to derive evolveability conditions for acceleration of reproductive timing in response to early-life adversity in a long-lived organism. For acceleration to evolve via the external PAR process, early-life cues must have a high degree of validity and the level of annual autocorrelation in the individual's environment must be almost perfect. For acceleration to evolve via the internal PAR process requires that early-life experience must determine a significant fraction of the variance in survival prospects in adulthood. The two processes are not mutually exclusive, and mechanisms for calibrating reproductive timing on the basis of early experience could evolve through a combination of the predictive value of early-life adversity for the later environment and its negative impact on somatic state. PMID:23843395
Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton).

PubMed

Zas, R; Cendán, C; Sampedro, L

2013-09-01

Although maternal environmental effects are increasingly recognized as an important source of phenotypic variation with relevant impacts in evolutionary processes, their relevance in long-lived plants such as pine trees is largely unknown. Here, we used a powerful sample size and a strong quantitative genetic approach to analyse the sources of variation of early seedling performance and to identify seed mass (SM)-dependent and -independent maternal environmental effects in Maritime pine. We measured SM of 8924 individual seeds collected from 10 genotypes clonally replicated in two environments of contrasting quality (favourable and stressful), and we measured seedling growth rate and biomass allocation to roots and shoots. SM was extremely variable (up to 14-fold) and strongly determined by the maternal environment and the genotype of the mother tree. The favourable maternal environment led to larger cones, larger seeds and reduced SM variability. The maternal environment also determined the offspring phenotype, with seedlings coming from the favourable environment being 35% larger and with greater root/shoot ratio. Transgenerational plasticity appears, thus, to be a relevant source of phenotypic variation in the early performance of this pine species. Seed provisioning explained most of the effect of the maternal environment on seedling total biomass. Environmental maternal effects on seedling biomass allocation were, however, determined through SM-independent mechanisms, suggesting that other epigenetic regulation channels may be involved.
Mediation of seed provisioning in the transmission of environmental maternal effects in Maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton)

PubMed Central

Zas, R; Cendán, C; Sampedro, L

2013-01-01

Although maternal environmental effects are increasingly recognized as an important source of phenotypic variation with relevant impacts in evolutionary processes, their relevance in long-lived plants such as pine trees is largely unknown. Here, we used a powerful sample size and a strong quantitative genetic approach to analyse the sources of variation of early seedling performance and to identify seed mass (SM)-dependent and -independent maternal environmental effects in Maritime pine. We measured SM of 8924 individual seeds collected from 10 genotypes clonally replicated in two environments of contrasting quality (favourable and stressful), and we measured seedling growth rate and biomass allocation to roots and shoots. SM was extremely variable (up to 14-fold) and strongly determined by the maternal environment and the genotype of the mother tree. The favourable maternal environment led to larger cones, larger seeds and reduced SM variability. The maternal environment also determined the offspring phenotype, with seedlings coming from the favourable environment being 35% larger and with greater root/shoot ratio. Transgenerational plasticity appears, thus, to be a relevant source of phenotypic variation in the early performance of this pine species. Seed provisioning explained most of the effect of the maternal environment on seedling total biomass. Environmental maternal effects on seedling biomass allocation were, however, determined through SM-independent mechanisms, suggesting that other epigenetic regulation channels may be involved. PMID:23652562
Effects of Family Functioning and Parenting Style on Early Entrants' Academic Performance and Program Completion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huey, Erron L.; Sayler, Michael F.; Rinn, Anne N.

2013-01-01

The purpose of the current study was to examine the predictive nature of parenting style and overall family environment on the academic performance and program completion of early college entrants. Furthermore, gender and family form were examined as possible moderators to these relationships. A total of 88 early college entrants participated in…
Integrated and Early Childhood Education: Preparation for Social Development. Theme A: Relevant Provision for Early Childhood.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Axton, J. H. M.

Factors which influence child development are listed and briefly discussed. These factors are (1) mother's childhood, (2) mother's age, (3) care during pregnancy and delivery, (4) early neonatal factors, (5) birth interval, (6) effect of repeated infection and malnutrition on brain growth and intellectual development, and (7) home environment. The…
Infant titi monkey behavior in the open field test and the effect of early adversity

PubMed Central

Larke, Rebecca H.; Toubiana, Alice; Lindsay, Katrina A.; Mendoza, Sally P.; Bales, Karen L.

2017-01-01

The open field test is commonly used to measure anxiety-related behavior and exploration in rodents. Here, we used it as a standardized novel environment in which to evaluate the behavioral response of infant titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus), to determine the effect of presence of individual family members, and to assess how adverse early experience alters infant behavior. Infants were tested in the open field for 5 days at ages 4 and 6 months in four successive 5 min trials on each day. A transport cage, which was situated on one side of the open field, was either empty (non-social control) or contained the father, mother, or sibling. Infant locomotor, vocalization, and exploratory behavior were quantified. Results indicated that age, sex, social condition, and early experience all had significant effects on infant behavior. Specifically, infants were generally more exploratory at 6 months and male infants were more exploratory than females. Infants distinguished between social and non-social conditions but made few behavioral distinctions between the attachment figure and other individuals. Infants which had adverse early life experience demonstrated greater emotional and physical independence, suggesting that early adversity led to resiliency in the novel environment. PMID:28605039
UV SURFACE ENVIRONMENT OF EARTH-LIKE PLANETS ORBITING FGKM STARS THROUGH GEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rugheimer, S.; Sasselov, D.; Segura, A.

2015-06-10

The UV environment of a host star affects the photochemistry in the atmosphere, and ultimately the surface UV environment for terrestrial planets and therefore the conditions for the origin and evolution of life. We model the surface UV radiation environment for Earth-sized planets orbiting FGKM stars in the circumstellar Habitable Zone for Earth through its geological evolution. We explore four different types of atmospheres corresponding to an early-Earth atmosphere at 3.9 Gyr ago and three atmospheres covering the rise of oxygen to present-day levels at 2.0 Gyr ago, 0.8 Gyr ago, and modern Earth. In addition to calculating the UVmore » flux on the surface of the planet, we model the biologically effective irradiance, using DNA damage as a proxy for biological damage. We find that a pre-biotic Earth (3.9 Gyr ago) orbiting an F0V star receives 6 times the biologically effective radiation as around the early Sun and 3520 times the modern Earth–Sun levels. A pre-biotic Earth orbiting GJ 581 (M3.5 V) receives 300 times less biologically effective radiation, about 2 times modern Earth–Sun levels. The UV fluxes calculated here provide a grid of model UV environments during the evolution of an Earth-like planet orbiting a range of stars. These models can be used as inputs into photo-biological experiments and for pre-biotic chemistry and early life evolution experiments.« less
Influence of Natural Environments in Spacecraft Design, Development, and Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Dave

2013-01-01

Spacecraft are growing in complexity and sensitivity to environmental effects. The spacecraft engineer must understand and take these effects into account in building reliable, survivable, and affordable spacecraft. Too much protections, however, means unnecessary expense while too little will potentially lead to early mission loss. The ability to balance cost and risk necessitates an understanding of how the environment impacts the spacecraft and is a critical factor in its design. This presentation is intended to address both the space environment and its effects with the intent of introducing the influence of the environment on spacecraft performance.
Influence of Natural Environments in Spacecraft Design, Development, and Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edwards, Dave

2012-01-01

Spacecraft are growing in complexity and sensitivity to environmental effects. The spacecraft engineer must understand and take these effects into account in building reliable, survivable, and affordable spacecraft. Too much protections, however, means unnecessary expense while too little will potentially lead to early mission loss. The ability to balance cost and risk necessitates an understanding of how the environment impacts the spacecraft and is a critical factor in its design. This presentation is intended to address both the space environment and its effects with the intent of introducing the influence of the environment on spacecraft performance.
The Exposure Advantage: Early Exposure to a Multilingual Environment Promotes Effective Communication.

PubMed

Fan, Samantha P; Liberman, Zoe; Keysar, Boaz; Kinzler, Katherine D

2015-07-01

Early language exposure is essential to developing a formal language system, but may not be sufficient for communicating effectively. To understand a speaker's intention, one must take the speaker's perspective. Multilingual exposure may promote effective communication by enhancing perspective taking. We tested children on a task that required perspective taking to interpret a speaker's intended meaning. Monolingual children failed to interpret the speaker's meaning dramatically more often than both bilingual children and children who were exposed to a multilingual environment but were not bilingual themselves. Children who were merely exposed to a second language performed as well as bilingual children, despite having lower executive-function scores. Thus, the communicative advantages demonstrated by the bilinguals may be social in origin, and not due to enhanced executive control. For millennia, multilingual exposure has been the norm. Our study shows that such an environment may facilitate the development of perspective-taking tools that are critical for effective communication. © The Author(s) 2015.
Mismatch or cumulative stress: toward an integrated hypothesis of programming effects.

PubMed

Nederhof, Esther; Schmidt, Mathias V

2012-07-16

This paper integrates the cumulative stress hypothesis with the mismatch hypothesis, taking into account individual differences in sensitivity to programming. According to the cumulative stress hypothesis, individuals are more likely to suffer from disease as adversity accumulates. According to the mismatch hypothesis, individuals are more likely to suffer from disease if a mismatch occurs between the early programming environment and the later adult environment. These seemingly contradicting hypotheses are integrated into a new model proposing that the cumulative stress hypothesis applies to individuals who were not or only to a small extent programmed by their early environment, while the mismatch hypothesis applies to individuals who experienced strong programming effects. Evidence for the main effects of adversity as well as evidence for the interaction between adversity in early and later life is presented from human observational studies and animal models. Next, convincing evidence for individual differences in sensitivity to programming is presented. We extensively discuss how our integrated model can be tested empirically in animal models and human studies, inviting researchers to test this model. Furthermore, this integrated model should tempt clinicians and other intervenors to interpret symptoms as possible adaptations from an evolutionary biology perspective. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Impact of the home environment on the relationship between prenatal exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and child behavior.

PubMed

Hopson, Madeleine B; Margolis, Amy; Rauh, Virginia; Herbstman, Julie

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to ascertain whether the effect of prenatal ETS exposure on behavioral symptoms at age 7 years is modified by the quality of the home environment. In a cohort of 417 children enrolled in a longitudinal birth cohort in New York City, prenatal ETS exposure, child behavior and home environment were assessed. Prenatal ETS was measured by questionnaire and blood cotinine. Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Early Childhood HOME Inventory Scale (HOME) were also used. We detected a significant interaction between prenatal ETS exposure and living in a "better" home environment on reported problems in the rule breaking and externalizing domains (p-value for interaction terms: 0.002 and 0.04, respectively), such that there was no significant adverse impact of ETS exposure on behavior among those who experienced a "better" environment. We also detected a significant interaction between prenatal ETS exposure and living in a "worse" home environment on reported problems in the aggressive and externalizing domains (p-value for interaction terms: 0.03 and 0.02, respectively), such that there was a significant adverse effect of ETS exposure on behavior among children who experienced a "worse" environment. Aspects of the HOME environment, both positive and negative, moderated the effects of prenatal ETS exposure on selected behaviors at 7 years of age. This finding suggests that some negative developmental behavioral effects associated with ETS exposure early in life may be modified by the provision of an enriched learning environment as measured by the HOME inventory.
Verbal abuse from nurse colleagues and work environment of early career registered nurses.

PubMed

Budin, Wendy C; Brewer, Carol S; Chao, Ying-Yu; Kovner, Christine

2013-09-01

This study examined relationships between verbal abuse from nurse colleagues and demographic characteristics, work attributes, and work attitudes of early career registered nurses (RNs). Data are from the fourth wave of a national panel survey of early career RNs begun in 2006. The final analytic sample included 1,407 RNs. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample, analysis of variance to compare means, and chi square to compare categorical variables. RNs reporting higher levels of verbal abuse from nurse colleagues were more likely to be unmarried, work in a hospital setting, or work in a non-magnet hospital. They also had lower job satisfaction, and less organizational commitment, autonomy, and intent to stay. Lastly, they perceived their work environments unfavorably. Data support the hypothesis that early career RNs are vulnerable to the effects of verbal abuse from nurse colleagues. Although more verbal abuse is seen in environments with unfavorable working conditions, and RNs working in such environments tend to have less favorable work attitudes, one cannot assume causality. It is unclear if poor working conditions create an environment where verbal abuse is tolerated or if verbal abuse creates an unfavorable work environment. There is a need to develop and test evidence-based interventions to deal with the problems inherent with verbal abuse from nurse colleagues. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.
Practitioner Review: Early Adversity and Developmental Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Eric; Rogers, Jody Warner

2005-01-01

Background: Knowledge of genetic influences, on developmental disorders such as autism spectrum, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities, has increased the opportunities for understanding the influences of the early environment. Methods: This paper provides a selective, narrative review for clinicians of the effects of…
Buffering Boys and Boosting Girls: The Protective and Promotive Effects of Early Head Start for Children's Expressive Language in the Context of Parenting Stress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vallotton, C. D.; Harewood, T.; Ayoub, C. A.; Pan, B.; Mastergeorge, A. M.; Brophy-Herb, H.

2012-01-01

Children's characteristics, including gender, influence their development by eliciting differential responses from their environments, and by influencing differential responses to their environments. Parenting-related stress, associated with poverty environments, negatively influences children's language, likely through its impact on parent-child…
Effects of early environmental enrichment upon open-field behavior and timidity in the domestic chick.

PubMed

Jones, R B

1982-03-01

Early environmental enrichment was evaluated by its effect on the behavior of 7-day-old male and female domestic chicks in an open field or novel environment and in a hole-in-the-wall test of timidity. The chicks were housed in same-sex groups of 10. The bare environments contained wood litter, food, and water, whereas the enriched boxes also contained various objects. In the open field, immobility was lower while feeding, walking, jumping and vocalization were higher in the enriched birds than in those reared in the bare environment. Enrichment also decreased emergence latencies in the hole-in-the-wall box. The increased stimulation provided by environmental enrichment may decrease fearfulness in subsequent fear-inducing situations and may enhance the ability of animals to adapt to novelty.
Egg-laying environment modulates offspring responses to predation risk in an amphibian.

PubMed

Tóth, Zoltán; Hettyey, Attila

2018-05-01

Predator-induced plasticity has been in the focus of evolutionary ecological research in the last decades, but the consequences of temporal variation in the presence of cues predicting offspring environment have remained controversial. This is partly due to the fact that the role of early environmental effects has scarcely been scrutinized in this context while also controlling for potential maternal effects. In this study, we investigated how past environmental conditions, that is different combinations of risky or safe adult (prenatal) and oviposition (early post-natal) environments, affected offspring's plastic responses in hatching time and locomotor activity to predation risk during development in the smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris). We found that females did not adjust their reproductive investment to the perceived level of risk in the adult environment, and this prenatal environment had generally negligible effect on offspring phenotype. However, when predator cues were absent during oviposition, larvae raised in the presence of predator cues delayed their hatching and exhibited a decreased activity compared to control larvae developing without predator cues, which responses are advantageous when predators pose a threat to hatched larvae. In the presence of predator cues during oviposition, the difference in hatching time persisted, but the difference in general locomotor activity disappeared between risk-exposed and control larvae. Our findings provide clear experimental evidence that fine-scale temporal variation in a predictive cue during and after egg-laying interactively affects offspring phenotype, and highlight the importance of the early post-natal environment, which may exert a substantial influence on progeny's phenotype also under natural conditions. © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2018 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.
Genetic vulnerability interacts with parenting and early care education to predict increasing externalizing behavior.

PubMed

Lipscomb, Shannon T; Laurent, Heidemarie; Neiderhiser, Jenae M; Shaw, Daniel S; Natsuaki, Misaki N; Reiss, David; Leve, Leslie D

2014-01-01

The current study examined interactions among genetic influences and children's early environments on the development of externalizing behaviors from 18 months to 6 years of age. Participants included 233 families linked through adoption (birth parents and adoptive families). Genetic influences were assessed by birth parent temperamental regulation. Early environments included both family (overreactive parenting) and out-of-home factors (center-based Early Care and Education; ECE). Overreactive parenting predicted more child externalizing behaviors. Attending center-based ECE was associated with increasing externalizing behaviors only for children with genetic liability for dysregulation. Additionally, children who were at risk for externalizing behaviors due to both genetic variability and exposure to center-based ECE were more sensitive to the effects of overreactive parenting on externalizing behavior than other children.
Genetic vulnerability interacts with parenting and early care education to predict increasing externalizing behavior

PubMed Central

Lipscomb, Shannon T.; Laurent, Heidemarie; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Natsuaki, Misaki N.; Reiss, David; Leve, Leslie D.

2014-01-01

The current study examined interactions among genetic influences and children’s early environments on the development of externalizing behaviors from 18 months to 6 years of age. Participants included 233 families linked through adoption (birth parents and adoptive families). Genetic influences were assessed by birth parent temperamental regulation. Early environments included both family (overreactive parenting) and out-of-home factors (center-based Early Care and Education; ECE). Overreactive parenting predicted more child externalizing behaviors. Attending center-based ECE was associated with increasing externalizing behaviors only for children with genetic liability for dysregulation. Additionally, children who were at risk for externalizing behaviors due to both genetic variability and exposure to center-based ECE were more sensitive to the effects of overreactive parenting on externalizing behavior than other children. PMID:25067867
The Complex Interaction between Home Environment, Socioeconomic Status, Maternal IQ and Early Child Neurocognitive Development: A Multivariate Analysis of Data Collected in a Newborn Cohort Study.

PubMed

Ronfani, Luca; Vecchi Brumatti, Liza; Mariuz, Marika; Tognin, Veronica; Bin, Maura; Ferluga, Valentina; Knowles, Alessandra; Montico, Marcella; Barbone, Fabio

2015-01-01

The relative role of socioeconomic status (SES), home environment and maternal intelligence, as factors affecting child cognitive development in early childhood is still unclear. The aim of this study is to analyze the association of SES, home environment and maternal IQ with child neurodevelopment at 18 months. The data were collected prospectively in the PHIME study, a newborn cohort study carried out in Italy between 2007 and 2010. Maternal nonverbal abilities (IQ) were evaluated using the Standard Progressive Matrices, a version of the Raven's Progressive Matrices; a direct evaluation of the home environment was carried out with the AIRE instrument, designed using the HOME (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment) model; the socioeconomic characteristics were evaluated using the SES index which takes into account parents occupation, type of employment, educational level, homeownership. The study outcome was child neurodevelopment evaluated at 18 months, with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition (BSID III). Linear regression analyses and mediation analyses were carried out to evaluate the association between the three exposures, and the scaled scores of the three main scales of BSID III (cognitive, language and motor scale), with adjustment for a wide range of potential explanatory variables. Data from 502 mother-child pairs were analyzed. Mediation analysis showed a relationship between SES and maternal IQ, with a complete mediation effect of home environment in affecting cognitive and language domains. A direct significant effect of maternal IQ on the BSID III motor development scale and the mediation effect of home environment were found. Our results show that home environment was the variable with greater influence on neurodevelopment at 18 months. The observation of how parents and children interact in the home context is crucial to adequately evaluate early child development.

Effects of Home Environment and Center-Based Child Care Quality on Children's Language, Communication, and Literacy Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinto, Ana Isabel; Pessanha, Manuela; Aguiar, Cecilia

2013-01-01

This study examined the joint effects of home environment and center-based child care quality on children's language, communication, and early literacy development, while also considering prior developmental level. Participants were 95 children (46 boys), assessed as toddlers (mean age = 26.33 months; Time 1) and preschoolers (mean age = 68.71…
Parents Supporting Learning: A Non-Intensive Intervention Supporting Literacy and Numeracy in the Home Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niklas, Frank; Cohrssen, Caroline; Tayler, Collette

2016-01-01

In Australia, emphasis in early childhood education policy is placed on the importance of the role of the family as a child's first educator, and finding effective ways to raise the effectiveness of parents in supporting children's learning, development and well-being. International studies demonstrate that the home learning environment (HLE)…
The influence of early intervention, informal support and the family environment on trajectories of competence for fathers raising children with developmental disabilities.

PubMed

Crossman, Morgan K; Parish, Susan L; Hauser-Cram, Penny; Garcia, Dolores Acevedo; Warfield, Marji Erickson

2018-05-21

Scant research disentangles the relationship between parenting competence, early intervention (EI) services, the family environment and informal support among fathers of children with developmental disabilities. (1) To determine the trajectory of parental competence for fathers of children with DD from age 3 to age 15. (2) Controlling for child and family characteristics, determine the main effects of the family environment, informal support, and EI services on paternal competence when their child with a developmental disability was age 3. (3) To determine whether there were lasting effects of the family environment, informal support, and the EI service system on differences in paternal competence over time. This study used multilevel modeling to analyze longitudinal data from 93 American fathers from the Early Intervention Collaborative Study. There was no significant change over time in paternal competence after controlling for various covariates. Fathers who initially reported low levels of competence when their child was three reported continuously lower competence over time. Family relationships, positive supports, and perceived helpfulness of home visits were significant predictors of paternal competence at age three. Implications for programs and policy include developing and adopting rigorous ways to measure and carefully monitor service provision, including assessments of paternal competence, family relationships and informal supports at the start of early intervention, and fostering continuous collaborations between providers, researchers and clinicians to address challenges in data collection. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Quantitative genetics of plumage color: lifetime effects of early nest environment on a colorful sexual signal

PubMed Central

Hubbard, Joanna K; Jenkins, Brittany R; Safran, Rebecca J

2015-01-01

Phenotypic differences among individuals are often linked to differential survival and mating success. Quantifying the relative influence of genetic and environmental variation on phenotype allows evolutionary biologists to make predictions about the potential for a given trait to respond to selection and various aspects of environmental variation. In particular, the environment individuals experience during early development can have lasting effects on phenotype later in life. Here, we used a natural full-sib/half-sib design as well as within-individual longitudinal analyses to examine genetic and various environmental influences on plumage color. We find that variation in melanin-based plumage color – a trait known to influence mating success in adult North American barn swallows (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster) – is influenced by both genetics and aspects of the developmental environment, including variation due to the maternal phenotype and the nest environment. Within individuals, nestling color is predictive of adult color. Accordingly, these early environmental influences are relevant to the sexually selected plumage color variation in adults. Early environmental conditions appear to have important lifelong implications for individual reproductive performance through sexual signal development in barn swallows. Our results indicate that feather color variation conveys information about developmental conditions and maternal care alleles to potential mates in North American barn swallows. Melanin-based colors are used for sexual signaling in many organisms, and our study suggests that these signals may be more sensitive to environmental variation than previously thought. PMID:26380676
Effects of early support intervention on workplace ergonomics--a two-year followup study.

PubMed

Turja, Johanna; Kaleva, Simo; Kivistö, Marketta; Seitsamo, Jorma

2012-01-01

The purpose of the controlled longitudinal study was to determine the effect of a tailored early support intervention method on workers' workplace ergonomics. The main areas of the early support intervention were training, guidance and support for supervisors in finding weak signals of impaired ergonomics. Supervisors were also trained to bring up these weak signals in discussion with employees and to make necessary changes at the workplace. The data consisted of 301 intervention subjects and 235 control subjects working in the field of commerce. The questionnaires were carried out in 2008 and in 2010, and the response rates among both groups were 45%. We used multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance (MANOVA) to test the difference in the groups at two points of time. The main result was that in the areas of work environment, the interaction between group and time was statistically significant (p=0.0004). The work environment improved in the intervention group, but deteriorated in the control. Working methods improved due to the interventions, but physical load factors increased over time in both groups. According to the study, tailored early support intervention has a generally beneficial impact on workers' workplace ergonomics in the areas of work methods, work environment and accident factors.
Effect of socioeconomic status disparity on child language and neural outcome: how early is early?

PubMed

Hurt, Hallam; Betancourt, Laura M

2016-01-01

It is not news that poverty adversely affects child outcome. The literature is replete with reports of deleterious effects on developmental outcome, cognitive function, and school performance in children and youth. Causative factors include poor nutrition, exposure to toxins, inadequate parenting, lack of cognitive stimulation, unstable social support, genetics, and toxic environments. Less is known regarding how early in life adverse effects may be detected. This review proposes to elucidate "how early is early" through discussion of seminal articles related to the effect of socioeconomic status on language outcome and a discussion of the emerging literature on effects of socioeconomic status disparity on brain structure in very young children. Given the young ages at which such outcomes are detected, the critical need for early targeted interventions for our youngest is underscored. Further, the fiscal reasonableness of initiating quality interventions supports these initiatives. As early life adversity produces lasting and deleterious effects on developmental outcome and brain structure, increased focus on programs and policies directed to reducing the impact of socioeconomic disparities is essential.
Blood pressure in young adulthood and residential greenness in the early-life environment of twins.

PubMed

Bijnens, Esmée M; Nawrot, Tim S; Loos, Ruth Jf; Gielen, Marij; Vlietinck, Robert; Derom, Catherine; Zeegers, Maurice P

2017-06-05

Previous research shows that, besides risk factors in adult life, the early-life environment can influence blood pressure and hypertension in adults. However, the effects of residential traffic exposure and residential greenness in the early-life on blood pressure in young adulthood are currently unknown. Ambulatory (24-h) blood pressures of 278 twins (132 pairs) of the East Flanders Prospective Twins Study were obtained at the age of 18 to 25 years. Prenatal and adulthood residential addresses were geocoded and used to assign prenatal and postnatal traffic and greenness indicators. Mixed modelling was performed to investigate blood pressure in association with greenness while adjusting for potential confounding factors. Night-time systolic blood pressure was inversely associated with greenness at the residential address in twins living at the same address their entire life (non-movers, n = 97, 34.9%). An interquartile increase in residential greenness exposure (1000 m radius) was associated with a 3.59 mmHg (95% CI: -6.0 to -1.23; p = 0.005) lower adult night systolic blood pressure. Among twins who were living at a different address than their birth address at time of the measurement (n = 181, 65.1%), night-time blood pressure was inversely associated with residential surrounding greenness at adult age as well as with residential greenness in early-life. However after additional adjustment for residential greenness exposure in adulthood, only residential greenness exposure in early-life was significantly associated with night systolic blood pressure. While no significant effect of adult residential greenness with adult blood pressure was observed, while accounting for the early-life greenness exposure. Lower residential greenness in the early-life environment was independently associated with a higher adult blood pressure. This indicates that residential greenness has persistent effects on blood pressure.
Infant titi monkey behavior in the open field test and the effect of early adversity.

PubMed

Larke, Rebecca H; Toubiana, Alice; Lindsay, Katrina A; Mendoza, Sally P; Bales, Karen L

2017-09-01

The open field test is commonly used to measure anxiety-related behavior and exploration in rodents. Here, we used it as a standardized novel environment in which to evaluate the behavioral response of infant titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus), to determine the effect of presence of individual family members, and to assess how adverse early experience alters infant behavior. Infants were tested in the open field for 5 days at ages 4 and 6 months in four successive 5 min trials on each day. A transport cage, which was situated on one side of the open field, was either empty (non-social control) or contained the father, mother, or sibling. Infant locomotor, vocalization, and exploratory behavior were quantified. Results indicated that age, sex, social condition, and early experience all had significant effects on infant behavior. Specifically, infants were generally more exploratory at 6 months and male infants were more exploratory than females. Infants distinguished between social and non-social conditions but made few behavioral distinctions between the attachment figure and other individuals. Infants which had adverse early life experience demonstrated greater emotional and physical independence, suggesting that early adversity led to resiliency in the novel environment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Using Lesson Study to Support the Teaching of Early Number Concepts: Examining the Development of Prospective Teachers' Specialized Content Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leavy, Aisling; Hourigan, Mairead

2018-01-01

Growing awareness of the importance of education in the early years has led professional organizations and policy makers to consider the effectiveness of mathematics education for young children. Factors such as educational environments, early years curricula and teacher education are some of the many aspects that have been examined. This paper…
Unpacking Socio-Economic Risks for Reading and Academic Self-Concept in Primary School: Differential Effects and the Role of the Preschool Home Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crampton, Alexandria; Hall, James

2017-01-01

Background: Uncertainty remains concerning how children's reading and academic self-concept are related and how these are differentially affected by social disadvantage and home learning environments. Aims: To contrast the impacts of early socio-economic risks and preschool home learning environments upon British children's reading abilities and…
Can the Home Environment Promote Resilience for Children Born Very Preterm in the Context of Social and Medical Risk?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Treyvaud, Karli; Inder, Terrie E.; Lee, Katherine J.; Northam, Elisabeth A.; Doyle, Lex W.; Anderson, Peter J.

2012-01-01

Relationships between the home environment and early developmental outcomes were examined in 166 children born very preterm in one tertiary maternity hospital to explore whether a more optimal home environment could promote resilience. In particular, we explored whether this effect was apparent over and above social risk and children's biological…
Spacecraft Environments Interactive: Space Radiation and Its Effects on Electronic System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, J. W., Jr.; Hardage, D. M.

1999-01-01

The natural space environment is characterized by complex and subtle phenomena hostile to spacecraft. Effects of these phenomena impact spacecraft design, development, and operation. Space systems become increasingly susceptible to the space environment as use of composite materials and smaller, faster electronics increases. This trend makes an understanding of space radiation and its effects on electronic systems essential to accomplish overall mission objectives, especially in the current climate of smaller/better/cheaper faster. This primer outlines the radiation environments encountered in space, discusses regions and types of radiation, applies the information to effects that these environments have on electronic systems, addresses design guidelines and system reliability, and stresses the importance of early involvement of radiation specialists in mission planning, system design, and design review (part-by-part verification).
Effects of Early Childhood Education on Kindergarten Readiness Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Modeste, Janis Monrose

2016-01-01

The purpose of this correlational study, which took place in a Central Florida school district, was to investigate the relationship between the quality of the early childhood education (ECE) programs and students' kindergarten readiness scores. Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, which states that a child's environment, culture, and language are…
Early-life estrogen exposure and uterine pathogenesis: ?A model for gene-environment interactions

EPA Science Inventory

Aberrant cellular differentiation early in life can contribute to increased cancer risk later in life. In a classic model of this effect, female mice exposed on postnatal day (PND) 1-5 to the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) have a high incidence of uterine carcinoma. ...
Secure Infant-Mother Attachment Buffers the Effect of Early-Life Stress on Age of Menarche.

PubMed

Sung, Sooyeon; Simpson, Jeffry A; Griskevicius, Vladas; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Schlomer, Gabriel L; Belsky, Jay

2016-05-01

Prior research indicates that being reared in stressful environments is associated with earlier onset of menarche in girls. In this research, we examined (a) whether these effects are driven by exposure to certain dimensions of stress (harshness or unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life and (b) whether the negative effects of stress on the timing of menarche are buffered by secure infant-mother attachment. Results revealed that (a) exposure to greater harshness (but not unpredictability) during the first 5 years of life predicted earlier menarche and (b) secure infant-mother attachment buffered girls from this effect of harsh environments. By connecting attachment research to its evolutionary foundations, these results illuminate how environmental stressors and relationships early in life jointly affect pubertal timing. © The Author(s) 2016.
Could the early environment of Mars have supported the development of life?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckay, Christopher P.; Stoker, Carol R.

1990-01-01

The environment of Mars and its correlation to the origin of life on earth are examined. Evidence of liquid water and nitrogen on early Mars is discussed. The similarities between the early Mars and early earth environments are described.
"It's the Way You Talk to Them." The Child's Environment: Early Years Practitioners' Perceptions of Its Influence on Speech and Language Development, Its Assessment and Environment Targeted Interventions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Julie; Lewis, Elizabeth

2014-01-01

Speech and language delay occurs in approximately 6% of the child population, and interventions to support this group of children focus on the child and/or the communicative environment. Evidence about the effectiveness of interventions that focus on the environment as well as the (reported) practices of speech and language therapists (SLTs) and…
Effects of early-life adversity on immune function are mediated by prenatal environment: Role of prenatal alcohol exposure.

PubMed

Raineki, Charlis; Bodnar, Tamara S; Holman, Parker J; Baglot, Samantha L; Lan, Ni; Weinberg, Joanne

2017-11-01

The contribution of the early postnatal environment to the pervasive effects of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) is poorly understood. Moreover, PAE often carries increased risk of exposure to adversity/stress during early life. Dysregulation of immune function may play a role in how pre- and/or postnatal adversity/stress alters brain development. Here, we combine two animal models to examine whether PAE differentially increases vulnerability to immune dysregulation in response to early-life adversity. PAE and control litters were exposed to either limited bedding (postnatal day [PN] 8-12) to model early-life adversity or normal bedding, and maternal behavior and pup vocalizations were recorded. Peripheral (serum) and central (amygdala) immune (cytokines and C-reactive protein - CRP) responses of PAE animals to early-life adversity were evaluated at PN12. Insufficient bedding increased negative maternal behavior in both groups. Early-life adversity increased vocalization in all animals; however, PAE pups vocalized less than controls. Early-life adversity reduced serum TNF-α, KC/GRO, and IL-10 levels in control but not PAE animals. PAE increased serum CRP, and levels were even higher in pups exposed to adversity. Finally, PAE reduced KC/GRO and increased IL-10 levels in the amygdala. Our results indicate that PAE alters immune system development and both behavioral and immune responses to early-life adversity, which could have subsequent consequences for brain development and later life health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Non-lethal effects of an invasive species in the marine environment: the importance of early life-history stages.

PubMed

Rius, Marc; Turon, Xavier; Marshall, Dustin J

2009-04-01

Studies examining the effects of invasive species have focussed traditionally on the direct/lethal effects of the invasive on the native community but there is a growing recognition that invasive species may also have non-lethal effects. In terrestrial systems, non-lethal effects of invasive species can disrupt early life-history phases (such as fertilisation, dispersal and subsequent establishment) of native species, but in the marine environment most studies focus on adult rather than early life-history stages. Here, we examine the potential for an introduced sessile marine invertebrate (Styela plicata) to exert both lethal and non-lethal effects on a native species (Microcosmus squamiger) across multiple early life-history stages. We determined whether sperm from the invasive species interfered with the fertilisation of eggs from the native species and found no effect. However, we did find strong effects of the invasive species on the post-fertilisation performance of the native species. The invasive species inhibited the settlement of native larvae and, in the field, the presence of the invasive species was associated with a ten-fold increase in the post-settlement mortality of the native species, as well as an initial reduction of growth in the native. Our results suggest that larvae of the native species avoid settling near the invasive species due to reduced post-settlement survival in its presence. Overall, we found that invasive species can have complex and pervasive effects (both lethal and non-lethal) across the early life-history stages of the native species, which are likely to result in its displacement and to facilitate further invasion.
Early social fear in relation to play with an unfamiliar peer: Actor and partner effects.

PubMed

Walker, Olga L; Degnan, Kathryn A; Fox, Nathan A; Henderson, Heather A

2015-11-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between maternal reports of social fear at 24 months and social behaviors with an unfamiliar peer during play at 36 months, using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kashy & Kenny, 1999). The APIM model was used to not only replicate previous findings of direct effects of early social fear on children's own social behavior (i.e., actor effects), but also to extend these findings by examining whether children's early social fear relates to an unfamiliar peer's behavior at 36 months (i.e., partner effects). Results revealed that social fear was associated with lower levels of children's own social engagement as well as less social engagement and dysregulated behavior in their play partners. These findings show that toddlers' social interactive behaviors are interdependent and reflect unique contributions of both the individual and their social partner's characteristics. In contrast, social fear was associated with children's own social wariness with the unfamiliar peer, but not their play partners' wariness. We discuss findings in terms of the influence of early social fear on young children's interpersonal environments and the potential role of these altered environments in supporting continuity of social fear and wariness over time. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Using a logic model to evaluate the Kids Together early education inclusion program for children with disabilities and additional needs.

PubMed

Clapham, Kathleen; Manning, Claire; Williams, Kathryn; O'Brien, Ginger; Sutherland, Margaret

2017-04-01

Despite clear evidence that learning and social opportunities for children with disabilities and special needs are more effective in inclusive not segregated settings, there are few known effective inclusion programs available to children with disabilities, their families or teachers in the early years within Australia. The Kids Together program was developed to support children with disabilities/additional needs aged 0-8 years attending mainstream early learning environments. Using a key worker transdisciplinary team model, the program aligns with the individualised package approach of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This paper reports on the use of a logic model to underpin the process, outcomes and impact evaluation of the Kids Together program. The research team worked across 15 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres and in home and community settings. A realist evaluation using mixed methods was undertaken to understand what works, for whom and in what contexts. The development of a logic model provided a structured way to explore how the program was implemented and achieved short, medium and long term outcomes within a complex community setting. Kids Together was shown to be a highly effective and innovative model for supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities/additional needs in a range of environments central for early childhood learning and development. The use of a logic model provided a visual representation of the Kids Together model and its component parts and enabled a theory of change to be inferred, showing how a coordinated and collaborative approached can work across multiple environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Academic Trajectories of Children of Immigrants and Their School Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Han, Wen-Jui

2008-01-01

Data from approximately 14,000 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey--Kindergarten Cohort were analyzed to examine the associations between children's immigrant status and their academic trajectories from kindergarten to 3rd grade, with particular attention to the effects of school environments. Growth curve modeling results…
Does social environment influence learning ability in a family-living lizard?

PubMed

Riley, Julia L; Noble, Daniel W A; Byrne, Richard W; Whiting, Martin J

2017-05-01

Early developmental environment can have profound effects on individual physiology, behaviour, and learning. In birds and mammals, social isolation during development is known to negatively affect learning ability; yet in other taxa, like reptiles, the effect of social isolation during development on learning ability is unknown. We investigated how social environment affects learning ability in the family-living tree skink (Egernia striolata). We hypothesized that early social environment shapes cognitive development in skinks and predicted that skinks raised in social isolation would have reduced learning ability compared to skinks raised socially. Offspring were separated at birth into two rearing treatments: (1) raised alone or (2) in a pair. After 1 year, we quantified spatial learning ability of skinks in these rearing treatments (N = 14 solitary, 14 social). We found no effect of rearing treatment on learning ability. The number of skinks to successfully learn the task, the number of trials taken to learn the task, the latency to perform the task, and the number of errors in each trial did not differ between isolated and socially reared skinks. Our results were unexpected, yet the facultative nature of this species' social system may result in a reduced effect of social isolation on behaviour when compared to species with obligate sociality. Overall, our findings do not provide evidence that social environment affects development of spatial learning ability in this family-living lizard.
Differentiating Hydrothermal, Pedogenic, and Glacial Weathering in a Cold Volcanic Mars-Analog Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scudder, N. A.; Horgan, B.; Havig, J.; Rutledge, A.; Rampe, E. B.; Hamilton, T.

2016-01-01

Although the current cold, dry environment of Mars extends back through much of its history, its earliest periods experienced significant water- related surface activity. Both geomorphic features (e.g., paleolakes, deltas, and river valleys) and hydrous mineral detections (e.g., clays and salts) have historically been interpreted to imply a "warm and wet" early Mars climate. More recently, atmospheric modeling studies have struggled to produce early climate conditions with temperatures above 0degC, leading some studies to propose a "cold and icy" early Mars dominated by widespread glaciation with transient melting. However, the alteration mineralogy produced in subglacial environments is not well understood, so the extent to which cold climate glacial weathering can produce the diverse alteration mineralogy observed on Mars is unknown. This summer, we will be conducting a field campaign in a glacial weathering environment in the Cascade Range, OR in order to determine the types of minerals that these environments produce. However, we must first disentangle the effects of glacial weathering from other significant alteration processes. Here we attempt a first understanding of glacial weathering by differentiating rocks and sediments weathered by hydrothermal, pedogenic, and glacial weathering processes in the Cascades volcanic range.
Selective disappearance of great tits with short telomeres in urban areas.

PubMed

Salmón, Pablo; Nilsson, Johan F; Watson, Hannah; Bensch, Staffan; Isaksson, Caroline

2017-09-13

Urban environments pose novel challenges, as well as opportunities, for urban-dwelling wildlife. Although differences have been reported in several phenotypic traits (e.g. morphology, physiology and behaviour) between urban and rural populations, it is poorly understood whether this affects individual fitness. Telomere dynamics are posited as one possible mechanism underlying senescence and mortality. It was recently shown that telomere shortening is accelerated when growing up in an urban, compared with a rural, environment. However, the implications of accelerated telomere attrition for fitness are still unclear. Here, we examine the relationship between telomere length (TL) and survival in a bird common to urban and rural environments, and during both early and later life. The results reveal that TL is a strong predictor of post-fledging survival and recruitment in both habitats but, crucially, selective disappearance of individuals with short telomeres early in life is more pronounced in the urban environment, resulting in a longer average TL among the adult population. However, following recruitment, we found no difference in the relationship between TL and survival between the urban and rural environments. This indicates that the urban environment has negative effects in early life, while during later life the benefits could potentially outweigh the costs. © 2017 The Author(s).
Family environment and emotional and behavioural symptoms in adolescent Cambodian Refugees: influence of time, gender, and acculturation.

PubMed

Rousseau, Cécile; Drapeau, Aline; Platt, Robert

2004-01-01

For young refugees, the turmoil of adolescence is exacerbated by the acculturation process that sometimes places them at odds with the traditional culture of their ethnic group. The family environment can affect how adolescents cross that pivotal period. This paper focuses on the influence of family environment, gender and acculturation on the mental health of young refugees from early to mid-adolescence. Sixty-seven Cambodian adolescents were followed up from early to mid-adolescence. The effects of the youths' acculturation level, gender, and family environment and structure on internalising and externalising symptoms were analysed through linear regression analyses. Family conflict tends to increase from early to mid-adolescence. The association between family environment and mental health changes over time and, overall, family environment is associated with externalisation whereas gender, acculturation level, and family structure influence internalisation. Cambodian girls and boys cope differently with the challenges of adolescence in the host country, adopting traditional strategies and borrowing new ones from the host culture. Family therapy may help the parents and their adolescents address this process of change, which is both a source of vulnerability and of fulfilment, and enhances the ability of the family to negotiate between the cultural worlds of the home and of the host countries.
Evidence supporting the match/mismatch hypothesis of psychiatric disorders.

PubMed

Santarelli, Sara; Lesuis, Sylvie L; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Wagner, Klaus V; Hartmann, Jakob; Labermaier, Christiana; Scharf, Sebastian H; Müller, Marianne B; Holsboer, Florian; Schmidt, Mathias V

2014-06-01

Chronic stress is one of the predominant environmental risk factors for a number of psychiatric disorders, particularly for major depression. Different hypotheses have been formulated to address the interaction between early and adult chronic stress in psychiatric disease vulnerability. The match/mismatch hypothesis of psychiatric disease states that the early life environment shapes coping strategies in a manner that enables individuals to optimally face similar environments later in life. We tested this hypothesis in female Balb/c mice that underwent either stress or enrichment early in life and were in adulthood further subdivided in single or group housed, in order to provide aversive or positive adult environments, respectively. We studied the effects of the environmental manipulation on anxiety-like, depressive-like and sociability behaviors and gene expression profiles. We show that continuous exposure to adverse environments (matched condition) is not necessarily resulting in an opposite phenotype compared to a continuous supportive environment (matched condition). Rather, animals with mismatched environmental conditions behaved differently from animals with matched environments on anxious, social and depressive like phenotypes. These results further support the match/mismatch hypothesis and illustrate how mild or moderate aversive conditions during development can shape an individual to be optimally adapted to similar conditions later in life. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.
Life and the solar uv environment on the early Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bérces, A.; Kovács, G.; Rontó, G.; Lammer, H.; Kargl, G.; Kömle, N.; Bauer, S.

2003-04-01

The solar UV radiation environment on planetary surfaces and within their atmospheres is of importance in a wide range of scientific disciplines. Solar UV radiation is the driving force of chemical and organic evolution and serves also as a constraint in biological evolution. Studies of the solar UV environment of the early Earth 2.0 Gyr to 3.8 Gyr ago suggest that the terrestrial atmosphere was essentially anoxic, resulting in an ozone column abundance insufficient for protecting the planetary surface in the UV-B and the UV-C ranges. Since, short wavelength solar UV radiation in the UV-B ind UV-C range penetrated through the unprotected atmosphere to the surface on early Earth, associated biological consequences may be expected. For DNA-based terrestrial solar UV dosimetry, bacteriophage T7, isolated phage-DNA ind polycrystalline Uracil samples have been used. The effect of solar UV radiation can be measured by detecting the biological-structural consequences of the damage induced by UV photons. We show model calculations for the Biological Effective Dose (BED) rate of Uracil and bacteriophage T7, for various ozone concentrations representing early atmospheric conditions on Earth up to a UV protecting ozone layer comparable to present times. Further, we discuss experimental data which show the photo-reverse effect of Uracil molecules caused by short UV wavelengths. These photoreversion effect highly depend on the wavelength of the radiation. Shorter wavelength UV radiation of about 200 nm is strongly effective in monomerisation, while the longer wavelengths prefer the production of dimerisation. We could demonstrate experimentally, for the case of an Uracil thin-layer that the photo-reaction process of the nucleotides can be both, dimerization and the reverse process: monomerization. These results are important for the study of solar UV exposure on organisms in the terrestrial environment more than 2 Gyr ago where Earth had no UV protecting ozone layer as well as for the search for life on Mars since we can show that biological harmful effects can also be reduced by shorter wavelength UV radiation, which is of importance in reducing DNA damages provoked by wavelengths longer than about 240 nm.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECTS OF EARLY EXPERIENCE ON AFTER BEHAVIOR.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

FORGAYS, DONALD G.

TWO SERIES OF STUDIES WHOSE SUBJECTS WERE EITHER HOODED AND ALBINO RATS OR YOUNG CHILDREN INVESTIGATED THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY EXPERIENCES ON LATER BEHAVIOR. IN THE FIRST, BOTH SUBSPECIES OF RATS WERE EXPOSED TO EITHER ENRICHED OR RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS TO ASSESS THEIR PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITIES UNDER VARIOUS LEARNING CONDITIONS. THE RESULTS…
An Effective Approach to Developing Function-Based Interventions in Early Childhood Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Brenna K.; Ferro, Jolenea B.

2014-01-01

Due to the unique features of early childhood classrooms, teachers routinely modify the social and physical environment to support children with mild to moderate challenges. Yet despite their access to behavioral consultants, school-based prekindergarten programs are more likely to expel young children from their classroom settings compared with…
Early Family System Types Predict Children's Emotional Attention Biases at School Age

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindblom, Jallu; Peltola, Mikko J.; Vänskä, Mervi; Hietanen, Jari K.; Laakso, Anu; Tiitinen, Aila; Tulppala, Maija; Punamäki, Raija-Leena

2017-01-01

The family environment shapes children's social information processing and emotion regulation. Yet, the long-term effects of early family systems have rarely been studied. This study investigated how family system types predict children's attentional biases toward facial expressions at the age of 10 years. The participants were 79 children from…
Pathways from Mothers' Early Social Support to Children's Language Development at Age 3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Young Eun

2017-01-01

The relationships between early maternal social support, maternal psychological well-being, the home learning environment, and children's language skills at age 3 in Korean families were examined. We hypothesized that maternal social support would predict children's language development through its effect on maternal psychological well-being and…
Maternal Rearing Environment Impacts Autonomic Nervous System Activity

PubMed Central

Bliss-Moreau, Eliza; Moadab, Gilda; Capitanio, John P.

2017-01-01

While it is now well known that social deprivation during early development permanently perturbs affective responding, accumulating evidence suggests that less severe restriction of the early social environment may also have deleterious effects. In the present report, we evaluate the affective responding of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) infants raised by their mothers in restricted social environments or by their mothers in large social groups by indexing autonomic nervous system activity. Following a 25-hr evaluation of biobehavioral organization, electrocardiogram and an index of respiration were recorded for ten minutes. This allowed for an evaluation of both heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia, an index of parasympathetic activity, during a challenging situation. Three to four month old infants raised in restricted social environments had significantly higher heart rates and lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia as compared to infants raised in unrestricted social environments, consistent with a more potent stress response to the procedure. These results are consistent with mounting evidence that the environment in which individuals are raised has important consequences for affective processing. PMID:28369889
Early-Life Stress, HPA Axis Adaptation, and Mechanisms Contributing to Later Health Outcomes

PubMed Central

Maniam, Jayanthi; Antoniadis, Christopher; Morris, Margaret J.

2014-01-01

Stress activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, which then modulates the degree of adaptation and response to a later stressor. It is known that early-life stress can impact on later health but less is known about how early-life stress impairs HPA axis activity, contributing to maladaptation of the stress–response system. Early-life stress exposure (either prenatally or in the early postnatal period) can impact developmental pathways resulting in lasting structural and regulatory changes that predispose to adulthood disease. Epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies have demonstrated that early-life stress produces long term hyper-responsiveness to stress with exaggerated circulating glucocorticoids, and enhanced anxiety and depression-like behaviors. Recently, evidence has emerged on early-life stress-induced metabolic derangements, for example hyperinsulinemia and altered insulin sensitivity on exposure to a high energy diet later in life. This draws our attention to the contribution of later environment to disease vulnerability. Early-life stress can alter the expression of genes in peripheral tissues, such as the glucocorticoid receptor and 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD1). We propose that interactions between altered HPA axis activity and liver 11β-HSD1 modulates both tissue and circulating glucocorticoid availability, with adverse metabolic consequences. This review discusses the potential mechanisms underlying early-life stress-induced maladaptation of the HPA axis, and its subsequent effects on energy utilization and expenditure. The effects of positive later environments as a means of ameliorating early-life stress-induced health deficits, and proposed mechanisms underpinning the interaction between early-life stress and subsequent detrimental environmental exposures on metabolic risk will be outlined. Limitations in current methodology linking early-life stress and later health outcomes will also be addressed. PMID:24860550
Twins and non-twin siblings: different estimates of shared environmental influence in early childhood.

PubMed

Koeppen-Schomerus, Gesina; Spinath, Frank M; Plomin, Robert

2003-04-01

Twin studies typically indicate shared environmental influence for cognitive abilities, especially in early childhood. However, across studies, DZ twin correlations tend to be greater than non-twin sibling correlations, suggesting that twin estimates of shared environment are to some extent specific to twins. We tested this hypothesis in a sample of more than 1800 MZ and 1800 same-sex DZ pairs from the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS), a study of twins born in England and Wales in 1994 and 1995. For this analysis, we obtained comparable data from more than 130 same-sex younger siblings of the twins. Twins and their younger siblings were assessed for language, cognitive abilities and behavior problems by their parents at 2 and 3 years of age. For language and cognitive measures at both 2 and 3 years, but not for behavior problems, estimates of shared environment were more than twice as large for twins as compared to non-twin siblings. We conclude that about half of twin study estimates of shared environment for cognitive abilities in early childhood are specific to twins. Although many possibilities exist for explaining the special shared environment effect for twins, we suggest that cognitive-relevant experiences that are not shared by siblings are shared by twins because they are exactly the same age.
Designing Studies to Test Causal Questions About Early Math: The Development of Making Pre-K Count.

PubMed

Mattera, Shira K; Morris, Pamela A; Jacob, Robin; Maier, Michelle; Rojas, Natalia

2017-01-01

A growing literature has demonstrated that early math skills are associated with later outcomes for children. This research has generated interest in improving children's early math competencies as a pathway to improved outcomes for children in elementary school. The Making Pre-K Count study was designed to test the effects of an early math intervention for preschoolers. Its design was unique in that, in addition to causally testing the effects of early math skills, it also allowed for the examination of a number of additional questions about scale-up, the influence of contextual factors and the counterfactual environment, the mechanism of long-term fade-out, and the role of measurement in early childhood intervention findings. This chapter outlines some of the design considerations and decisions put in place to create a rigorous test of the causal effects of early math skills that is also able to answer these questions in early childhood mathematics and intervention. The study serves as a potential model for how to advance science in the fields of preschool intervention and early mathematics. © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
[Air pollutant exposure during pregnancy and fetal and early childhood development. Research protocol of the INMA (Childhood and Environment Project)].

PubMed

Esplugues, Ana; Fernández-Patier, Rosalía; Aguilera, Inma; Iñíguez, Carmen; García Dos Santos, Saúl; Aguirre Alfaro, Amelia; Lacasaña, Marina; Estarlich, Marisa; Grimalt, Joan O; Fernández, Marieta; Rebagliato, Marisa; Sala, María; Tardón, Adonina; Torrent, Maties; Martínez, María Dolores; Ribas-Fitó, Núria; Sunyer, Jordi; Ballester, Ferran

2007-01-01

The INMA (INfancia y Medio Ambiente [Spanish for Environment and Childhood]) project is a cooperative research network. This project aims to study the effects of environment and diet on fetal and early childhood development. This article aims to present the air pollutant exposure protocol during pregnancy and fetal and early childhood development of the INMA project. The information to assess air pollutant exposure during pregnancy is based on outdoor measurement of air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide [NO2], volatile organic compounds [VOC], ozone, particulate matter [PM10, PM2,5 ] and of their composition [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]); measurement of indoor and personal exposure (VOC and NO2); urinary measurement of a biological marker of hydrocarbon exposure (1-hydroxypyrene); and data gathered by questionnaires and geographic information systems. These data allow individual air pollutant exposure indexes to be developed, which can then be used to analyze the possible effects of exposure on fetal development and child health. This protocol and the type of study allow an approximation to individual air pollutant exposure to be obtained. Finally, the large number of participants (N = 4,000), as well as their geographic and social diversity, increases the study's potential.
Enhancing the early home learning environment through a brief group parenting intervention: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Nicholson, Jan M; Cann, Warren; Matthews, Jan; Berthelsen, Donna; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Trajanovska, Misel; Bennetts, Shannon K; Hillgrove, Tessa; Hamilton, Victoria; Westrupp, Elizabeth; Hackworth, Naomi J

2016-06-02

The quality of the home learning environment has a significant influence on children's language and communication skills during the early years with children from disadvantaged families disproportionately affected. This paper describes the protocol and participant baseline characteristics of a community-based effectiveness study. It evaluates the effects of 'smalltalk', a brief group parenting intervention (with or without home coaching) on the quality of the early childhood home learning environment. The study comprises two cluster randomised controlled superiority trials (one for infants and one for toddlers) designed and conducted in parallel. In 20 local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia, six locations (clusters) were randomised to one of three conditions: standard care (control); smalltalk group-only program; or smalltalk plus (group program plus home coaching). Programs were delivered to parents experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage through two existing age-based services, the maternal and child health service (infant program, ages 6-12 months), and facilitated playgroups (toddler program, ages 12-36 months). Outcomes were assessed by parent report and direct observation at baseline (0 weeks), post-intervention (12 weeks) and follow-up (32 weeks). Primary outcomes were parent verbal responsivity and home activities with child at 32 weeks. Secondary outcomes included parenting confidence, parent wellbeing and children's communication, socio-emotional and general development skills. Analyses will use intention-to-treat random effects ("multilevel") models to account for clustering. Across the 20 LGAs, 986 parents of infants and 1200 parents of toddlers enrolled and completed baseline measures. Eighty four percent of families demonstrated one or more of the targeted risk factors for poor child development (low income; receives government benefits; single, socially isolated or young parent; culturally or linguistically diverse background). This study will provide unique data on the effectiveness of a brief group parenting intervention for enhancing the early home learning environment of young children from disadvantaged families. It will also provide evidence of the extent to which additional one-on-one support is required to achieve change and whether there are greater benefits when delivered in the 1st year of life or later. The program has been designed for scale-up across existing early childhood services if proven effective. 8 September 2011; ACTRN12611000965909 .
Sucrose exposure in early life alters adult motivation and weight gain.

PubMed

Frazier, Cristianne R M; Mason, Peggy; Zhuang, Xiaoxi; Beeler, Jeff A

2008-09-17

The cause of the current increase in obesity in westernized nations is poorly understood but is frequently attributed to a 'thrifty genotype,' an evolutionary predisposition to store calories in times of plenty to protect against future scarcity. In modern, industrialized environments that provide a ready, uninterrupted supply of energy-rich foods at low cost, this genetic predisposition is hypothesized to lead to obesity. Children are also exposed to this 'obesogenic' environment; however, whether such early dietary experience has developmental effects and contributes to adult vulnerability to obesity is unknown. Using mice, we tested the hypothesis that dietary experience during childhood and adolescence affects adult obesity risk. We gave mice unlimited or no access to sucrose for a short period post-weaning and measured sucrose-seeking, food consumption, and weight gain in adulthood. Unlimited access to sucrose early in life reduced sucrose-seeking when work was required to obtain it. When high-sugar/high-fat dietary options were made freely-available, however, the sucrose-exposed mice gained more weight than mice without early sucrose exposure. These results suggest that early, unlimited exposure to sucrose reduces motivation to acquire sucrose but promotes weight gain in adulthood when the cost of acquiring palatable, energy dense foods is low. This study demonstrates that early post-weaning experience can modify the expression of a 'thrifty genotype' and alter an adult animal's response to its environment, a finding consistent with evidence of pre- and peri-natal programming of adult obesity risk by maternal nutritional status. Our findings suggest the window for developmental effects of diet may extend into childhood, an observation with potentially important implications for both research and public policy in addressing the rising incidence of obesity.
The Drosophila foraging gene human orthologue PRKG1 predicts individual differences in the effects of early adversity on maternal sensitivity.

PubMed

Sokolowski, H Moriah; Vasquez, Oscar E; Unternaehrer, Eva; Sokolowski, Dustin J; Biergans, Stephanie D; Atkinson, Leslie; Gonzalez, Andrea; Silveira, Patricia P; Levitan, Robert; O'Donnell, Kieran J; Steiner, Meir; Kennedy, James; Meaney, Michael J; Fleming, Alison S; Sokolowski, Marla B

2017-04-01

There is variation in the extent to which childhood adverse experience affects adult individual differences in maternal behavior. Genetic variation in the animal foraging gene, which encodes a cGMP-dependent protein kinase, contributes to variation in the responses of adult fruit flies, Drosophila melanogaster , to early life adversity and is also known to play a role in maternal behavior in social insects. Here we investigate genetic variation in the human foraging gene ( PRKG1 ) as a predictor of individual differences in the effects of early adversity on maternal behavior in two cohorts. We show that the PRKG1 genetic polymorphism rs2043556 associates with maternal sensitivity towards their infants. We also show that rs2043556 moderates the association between self-reported childhood adversity of the mother and her later maternal sensitivity. Mothers with the TT allele of rs2043556 appeared buffered from the effects of early adversity, whereas mothers with the presence of a C allele were not. Our study used the Toronto Longitudinal Cohort (N=288 mother-16 month old infant pairs) and the Maternal Adversity and Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment Cohort (N=281 mother-18 month old infant pairs). Our findings expand the literature on the contributions of both genetics and gene-environment interactions to maternal sensitivity, a salient feature of the early environment relevant for child neurodevelopment.

Environmental history [chapter 2

Treesearch

Dan Scurlock

1995-01-01

Humans are a major component of the environment, and all human activities impact the environment, which includes other humans. Researchers have only recently focused on spatial and temporal impacts of historic human activities on the land and water of the Middle Rio Grande Basin. Interrelationships of these and the effects of periodic severe cold periods, early or late...
Transgenerational transmission of a stress-coping phenotype programmed by early-life stress in the Japanese quail

PubMed Central

Zimmer, Cédric; Larriva, Maria; Boogert, Neeltje J.; Spencer, Karen A.

2017-01-01

An interesting aspect of developmental programming is the existence of transgenerational effects that influence offspring characteristics and performance later in life. These transgenerational effects have been hypothesized to allow individuals to cope better with predictable environmental fluctuations and thus facilitate adaptation to changing environments. Here, we test for the first time how early-life stress drives developmental programming and transgenerational effects of maternal exposure to early-life stress on several phenotypic traits in their offspring in a functionally relevant context using a fully factorial design. We manipulated pre- and/or post-natal stress in both Japanese quail mothers and offspring and examined the consequences for several stress-related traits in the offspring generation. We show that pre-natal stress experienced by the mother did not simply affect offspring phenotype but resulted in the inheritance of the same stress-coping traits in the offspring across all phenotypic levels that we investigated, shaping neuroendocrine, physiological and behavioural traits. This may serve mothers to better prepare their offspring to cope with later environments where the same stressors are experienced. PMID:28387355
Parenting Practices in Preschool Leading to Later Cognitive Competence: A Family Stress Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nievar, M. Angela; Moske, Amanda Kay; Johnson, Deborah Jean; Chen, Qi

2014-01-01

Research Findings: This study investigates the effect of the early home environment on self-regulation in preschoolers, and how self-regulation relates to later school achievement, while taking into account family resources. Participants were part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Early Child Care and Youth…
Conditions for Implementation of the Science Curriculum in Early Childhood Development and Education Centres in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaji, Milimu Gladys; Indoshi, Francis C.

2008-01-01

Cognitive development and teaching have highlighted the importance of learning based on the relationship among individuals and the learning environment. Teaching and learning of science in early childhood development and education (ECDE) can only be effective if adequate facilities, materials, equipment and activities are put in place. Teaching of…
Early afterglows in wind environments revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Y. C.; Wu, X. F.; Dai, Z. G.

2005-10-01

When a cold shell sweeps up the ambient medium, a forward shock and a reverse shock will form. We analyse the reverse-forward shocks in a wind environment, including their dynamics and emission. An early afterglow is emitted from the shocked shell, e.g. an optical flash may emerge. The reverse shock behaves differently in two approximations: the relativistic and Newtonian cases, which depend on the parameters, e.g. the initial Lorentz factor of the ejecta. If the initial Lorentz factor is much less than 114E1/453Δ-1/40,12A-1/4*,-1, the early reverse shock is Newtonian. This may take place for the wider of a two-component jet, an orphan afterglow caused by a low initial Lorentz factor and so on. The synchrotron self-absorption effect is significant especially for the Newtonian reverse shock case, as the absorption frequency νa is larger than the cooling frequency νc and the minimum synchrotron frequency νm for typical parameters. For the optical to X-ray band, the flux is nearly unchanged with time during the early period, which may be a diagnostic for the low initial Lorentz factor of the ejecta in a wind environment. We also investigate the early light curves with different wind densities and compare them with those in the interstellar medium model.
Effects of emergence time and early social rearing environment on behaviour of Atlantic salmon: consequences for juvenile fitness and smolt migration.

PubMed

Larsen, Martin H; Johnsson, Jörgen I; Winberg, Svante; Wilson, Alexander D M; Hammenstig, David; Thörnqvist, Per-Ove; Midwood, Jonathan D; Aarestrup, Kim; Höglund, Erik

2015-01-01

Consistent individual differences in behaviour have been well documented in a variety of animal taxa, but surprisingly little is known about the fitness and life-history consequences of such individual variation. In wild salmonids, the timing of fry emergence from gravel spawning nests has been suggested to be coupled with individual behavioural traits. Here, we further investigate the link between timing of spawning nest emergence and behaviour of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), test effects of social rearing environment on behavioural traits in fish with different emergence times, and assess whether behavioural traits measured in the laboratory predict growth, survival, and migration status in the wild. Atlantic salmon fry were sorted with respect to emergence time from artificial spawning nest into three groups: early, intermediate, and late. These emergence groups were hatchery-reared separately or in co-culture for four months to test effects of social rearing environment on behavioural traits. Twenty fish from each of the six treatment groups were then subjected to three individual-based behavioural tests: basal locomotor activity, boldness, and escape response. Following behavioural characterization, the fish were released into a near-natural experimental stream. Results showed differences in escape behaviour between emergence groups in a net restraining test, but the social rearing environment did not affect individual behavioural expression. Emergence time and social environment had no significant effects on survival, growth, and migration status in the stream, although migration propensity was 1.4 to 1.9 times higher for early emerging individuals that were reared separately. In addition, despite individuals showing considerable variation in behaviour across treatment groups, this was not translated into differences in growth, survival, and migration status. Hence, our study adds to the view that fitness (i.e., growth and survival) and life-history predictions from laboratory measures of behaviour should be made with caution and ideally tested in nature.
Sixty Years after the Magic Carpet Ride: The Long-Run Effect of the Early Childhood Environment on Social and Economic Outcomes. NBER Working Paper No. 14884

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gould, Eric D.; Lavy, Victor; Paserman, M. Daniele

2009-01-01

This paper estimates the effect of the childhood environment on a large array of social and economic outcomes lasting almost 60 years, for both the affected cohorts and for their children. To do this, we exploit a natural experiment provided by the 1949 Magic Carpet operation, where over 50,000 Yemenite immigrants were airlifted to Israel. The…
Income and children's behavioral functioning: a sequential mediation analysis.

PubMed

Shelleby, Elizabeth C; Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth; Shaw, Daniel S; Dishion, Thomas J; Wilson, Melvin N; Gardner, Frances

2014-12-01

Children from low-income households tend to exhibit higher levels of conduct problems and emotional problems, yet the pathways linking economic disadvantage to children's behavioral functioning are not well understood. This study uses data from the Early Steps Multisite (ESM) project (N = 731) to investigate associations between family income in early childhood and children's conduct problems and emotional problems in middle childhood. The study explores whether the associations from income to child conduct problems and emotional problems operate through maternal depressive symptoms and 3 family risk factors in early childhood-harsh parenting, parenting hassles, and chaos in the home environment. Results of a sequential mediation model revealed significant indirect effects of family income on children's conduct problems operating through maternal depressive symptoms and parenting hassles and indirect effects of family income on children's emotional problems operating through maternal depressive symptoms, chaos in the home environment, and parenting hassles. Implications of these findings for understanding processes through which income influences child functioning are discussed.
Complex Living Conditions Impair Behavioral Inhibition but Improve Attention in Rats

PubMed Central

van der Veen, Rixt; Kentrop, Jiska; van der Tas, Liza; Loi, Manila; van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Joëls, Marian

2015-01-01

Rapid adaptation to changes, while maintaining a certain level of behavioral inhibition is an important feature in every day functioning. How environmental context and challenges in life can impact on the development of this quality is still unknown. In the present study, we examined the effect of a complex rearing environment during adolescence on attention and behavioral inhibition in adult male rats. We also tested whether these effects were affected by an adverse early life challenge, maternal deprivation (MD). We found that animals that were raised in large, two floor MarlauTM cages, together with 10 conspecifics, showed improved attention, but impaired behavioral inhibition in the 5-choice serial reaction time task. The early life challenge of 24 h MD on postnatal day 3 led to a decline in bodyweight during adolescence, but did not by itself influence responses in the 5-choice task in adulthood, nor did it moderate the effects of complex housing. Our data suggest that a complex rearing environment leads to a faster adaptation to changes in the environment, but at the cost of lower behavioral inhibition. PMID:26733839
The genetic-environmental etiology of cognitive school readiness and later academic achievement in early childhood.

PubMed

Lemelin, Jean-Pascal; Boivin, Michel; Forget-Dubois, Nadine; Dionne, Ginette; Séguin, Jean R; Brendgen, Mara; Vitaro, Frank; Tremblay, Richard E; Pérusse, Daniel

2007-01-01

Using a genetic design of 840 60-month-old twins, this study investigated the genetic and environmental contributions to (a) individual differences in four components of cognitive school readiness, (b) the general ability underlying these four components, and (c) the predictive association between school readiness and school achievement. Results revealed that the contribution of the shared environment for cognitive school readiness was substantial. Genetic effects were more important for the core abilities underlying school readiness than for each specific skill, although shared environment remained the largest factor overall. Genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental factors all accounted for the predictive association between school readiness and early school achievement. These results contribute to a better understanding of the early determinants of school readiness.
An exploratory longitudinal study of social and language outcomes in children with autism in bilingual home environments.

PubMed

Zhou, Vanessa; Munson, Jeffrey A; Greenson, Jessica; Hou, Yan; Rogers, Sally; Estes, Annette M

2017-12-01

Little is known about outcomes of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder reared in bilingual homes. There are concerns that social communication deficits among children with autism spectrum disorder may reduce the developmental benefits of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder raised in bilingual environments. We conducted an exploratory analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal data from a larger study to explore associations between home language environment and language ability and social skills in response to early autism spectrum disorder intervention. Participants, aged 12-26 months when recruited, were a subset of a larger 2-year, randomized intervention trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00698997). Children from bilingual homes ( n = 13) began intervention with lower gesture use but otherwise demonstrated equal baseline language and social abilities as compared with age and nonverbal IQ-matched children from monolingual homes ( n = 24). Significant language growth was exhibited by children from both language groups and there was no moderating effect of home language environment. The bilingual home group demonstrated increased gesture use over the course of intervention as compared with the monolingual home group. Preliminary data revealed no basis for concerns regarding negative impact of a bilingual home environment on language or social development in young children with autism spectrum disorder.
The Combined Influence of Air Pollution and Home Learning Environment on Early Cognitive Skills in Children

PubMed Central

Stingone, Jeanette A.

2017-01-01

Cognitive skills are one component of school readiness that reflect a child’s neurodevelopment and are influenced by environmental and social factors. Most studies assess the impact of these factors individually, without taking into consideration the complex interactions of multiple factors. The objective of this study was to examine the joint association of markers of environmental pollution and of social factors on early cognitive skills in an urban cohort of children. For this, we chose isophorone in ambient air as a marker of industrial air pollution. Low quality home learning environments was chosen as a marker of the social factors contributing to cognitive development. Using a subpopulation from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N = 4050), isophorone exposure was assigned using the 2002 National Air Toxics Assessment. Home learning environment was assessed with a modified version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory, and standardized math assessment scores were used as a measure of early cognitive skills. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the effect of both exposures on math scores. After adjustment for confounders, children living in areas with ambient isophorone in the upper quintile of exposure (>0.49 ng/m3) had math scores that were 1.63 points lower than their less exposed peers [95% CI: −2.91, −0.34], and children with lower HOME scores (at or below 9 out of 12) had math scores that were 1.20 points lower than children with better HOME scores [95% CI: −2.30, −0.10]. In adjusted models accounting for identified confounders and both exposures of interest, both high isophorone exposure and low HOME score remained independently associated with math scores [−1.48, 95% CI: −2.79, −0.18; −1.05, 95% CI: −2.15, 0.05, respectively]. There was no statistical evidence of interaction between the two exposures, although children with both higher isophorone exposure and a low HOME score had a decrement in math scale score beyond the additive effect of each exposure. This was primarily observed among male children. These findings suggest that aspects of both the physical and social environments are independently associated with children’s early cognitive skills. Future research aiming to improve children’s early cognitive skills and subsequent school readiness should address both domains. PMID:29072589
The Combined Influence of Air Pollution and Home Learning Environment on Early Cognitive Skills in Children.

PubMed

Lett, Lanair A; Stingone, Jeanette A; Claudio, Luz

2017-10-26

Cognitive skills are one component of school readiness that reflect a child's neurodevelopment and are influenced by environmental and social factors. Most studies assess the impact of these factors individually, without taking into consideration the complex interactions of multiple factors. The objective of this study was to examine the joint association of markers of environmental pollution and of social factors on early cognitive skills in an urban cohort of children. For this, we chose isophorone in ambient air as a marker of industrial air pollution. Low quality home learning environments was chosen as a marker of the social factors contributing to cognitive development. Using a subpopulation from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N = 4050), isophorone exposure was assigned using the 2002 National Air Toxics Assessment. Home learning environment was assessed with a modified version of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory, and standardized math assessment scores were used as a measure of early cognitive skills. Multiple linear regression was used to estimate the effect of both exposures on math scores. After adjustment for confounders, children living in areas with ambient isophorone in the upper quintile of exposure (>0.49 ng/m³) had math scores that were 1.63 points lower than their less exposed peers [95% CI: -2.91, -0.34], and children with lower HOME scores (at or below 9 out of 12) had math scores that were 1.20 points lower than children with better HOME scores [95% CI: -2.30, -0.10]. In adjusted models accounting for identified confounders and both exposures of interest, both high isophorone exposure and low HOME score remained independently associated with math scores [-1.48, 95% CI: -2.79, -0.18; -1.05, 95% CI: -2.15, 0.05, respectively]. There was no statistical evidence of interaction between the two exposures, although children with both higher isophorone exposure and a low HOME score had a decrement in math scale score beyond the additive effect of each exposure. This was primarily observed among male children. These findings suggest that aspects of both the physical and social environments are independently associated with children's early cognitive skills. Future research aiming to improve children's early cognitive skills and subsequent school readiness should address both domains.
Understanding Relations among Early Family Environment, Cortisol Response, and Child Aggression via a Prevention Experiment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neal, Colleen R.; Brotman, Laurie Miller; Huang, Keng-Yen; Gouley, Kathleen Kiely; Kamboukos, Dimitra; Calzada, Esther J.; Pine, Daniel S.

2010-01-01

This study examined relations among family environment, cortisol response, and behavior in the context of a randomized controlled trial with 92 children (M = 48 months) at risk for antisocial behavior. Previously, researchers reported an intervention effect on cortisol response in anticipation of a social challenge. The current study examined…
Computer Networks as Instructional and Collaborative Distance Learning Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schrum, Lynne; Lamb, Theodore A.

1997-01-01

Reports on the early stages of a project at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in which the instructional applications of a networked classroom laboratory, an intranet, and the Internet are explored as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of groupware and computer networks as instructional environments. Presents the results of the first pilot tests.…
Young Children and Screen Time: Creating a Mindful Approach to Digital Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neumann, Michelle Margaret

2015-01-01

To effectively address early childhood screen time concerns raised by parents and policy makers it is important to examine the current home digital environments of young children. The present study draws upon research that examined the home digital environment of Australian parents and their children (aged 2 to 4; N = 69). Parents completed a…
How Does the Neighborhood "Come through the Door?" Concentrated Disadvantage, Residential Instability, and the Home Environment for Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

May, Emily M.; Azar, Sandra T.; Matthews, Stephen A.

2018-01-01

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with heightened risk for poor school readiness and health outcomes in early childhood, and the home environment is thought to be a primary mechanism by which neighborhood context impacts preschoolers. This study examined the effects of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and neighborhood…
The positive and negative consequences of stressors during early life.

PubMed

Monaghan, Pat; Haussmann, Mark F

2015-11-01

We discuss the long-term effects of stress exposure in pre- and early postnal life. We present an evolutionary framework within which such effects can be viewed, and describe how the outcomes might vary with species life histories. We focus on stressors that induce increases in glucocorticoid hormones and discuss the advantages of an experimental approach. We describe a number of studies demonstrating how exposure to these hormones in early life can influence stress responsiveness and have substantial long-term, negative consequences for adult longevity. We also describe how early life exposure to mild levels of stressors can have beneficial effects on resilience to stress in later life, and discuss how the balance of costs and benefits is likely dependent on the nature of the adult environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Developmental pathways to adiposity begin before birth and are influenced by genotype, prenatal environment and epigenome.

PubMed

Lin, Xinyi; Lim, Ives Yubin; Wu, Yonghui; Teh, Ai Ling; Chen, Li; Aris, Izzuddin M; Soh, Shu E; Tint, Mya Thway; MacIsaac, Julia L; Morin, Alexander M; Yap, Fabian; Tan, Kok Hian; Saw, Seang Mei; Kobor, Michael S; Meaney, Michael J; Godfrey, Keith M; Chong, Yap Seng; Holbrook, Joanna D; Lee, Yung Seng; Gluckman, Peter D; Karnani, Neerja

2017-03-07

Obesity is an escalating health problem worldwide, and hence the causes underlying its development are of primary importance to public health. There is growing evidence that suboptimal intrauterine environment can perturb the metabolic programing of the growing fetus, thereby increasing the risk of developing obesity in later life. However, the link between early exposures in the womb, genetic susceptibility, and perturbed epigenome on metabolic health is not well understood. In this study, we shed more light on this aspect by performing a comprehensive analysis on the effects of variation in prenatal environment, neonatal methylome, and genotype on birth weight and adiposity in early childhood. In a prospective mother-offspring cohort (N = 987), we interrogated the effects of 30 variables that influence the prenatal environment, umbilical cord DNA methylation, and genotype on offspring weight and adiposity, over the period from birth to 48 months. This is an interim analysis on an ongoing cohort study. Eleven of 30 prenatal environments, including maternal adiposity, smoking, blood glucose and plasma unsaturated fatty acid levels, were associated with birth weight. Polygenic risk scores derived from genetic association studies on adult adiposity were also associated with birth weight and child adiposity, indicating an overlap between the genetic pathways influencing metabolic health in early and later life. Neonatal methylation markers from seven gene loci (ANK3, CDKN2B, CACNA1G, IGDCC4, P4HA3, ZNF423 and MIRLET7BHG) were significantly associated with birth weight, with a subset of these in genes previously implicated in metabolic pathways in humans and in animal models. Methylation levels at three of seven birth weight-linked loci showed significant association with prenatal environment, but none were affected by polygenic risk score. Six of these birth weight-linked loci continued to show a longitudinal association with offspring size and/or adiposity in early childhood. This study provides further evidence that developmental pathways to adiposity begin before birth and are influenced by environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors. These pathways can have a lasting effect on offspring size, adiposity and future metabolic outcomes, and offer new opportunities for risk stratification and prevention of obesity. This birth cohort is a prospective observational study, designed to study the developmental origins of health and disease, and was retrospectively registered on 1 July 2010 under the identifier NCT01174875 .
Prediction of Work Efficiency in Early Adolescence under the Effects of Noise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fosnaric, Samo; Planinsec, Jurij

2008-01-01

This is a short summary of research on how different stress factors in the work environment (climate, light, noise) affect work performance of early adolescents. Due to the complexity of the measurements, the research consisted of a small sample of male adolescents (N = 20); average age 13.5 years (SD = 0.25). Tasks were used which demanded…

A Comparison of Student Knowledge between Traditional and Blended Instruction in a Physical Education in Early Childhood Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giannousi, Maria; Vernadakis, Nikolaos; Derri, Vassiliki; Antoniou, Panagiotis; Kioumourtzoglou, Efthimis

2014-01-01

Blended learning model combines different advantages of face to face education and e-learning to ensure an effective learning environment for students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of traditional and blended instruction, in students' knowledge in a Physical Education in Early Childhood course. For the purpose of this…
Family Risks and Protective Factors: Pathways to Early Head Start Toddlers' Social-Emotional Functioning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vick Whittaker, Jessica E.; Harden, Brenda Jones; See, Heather M.; Meisch, Allison D.; Westbrook, T'Pring R.

2011-01-01

Early Head Start children may be more likely to exhibit difficulties with social-emotional functioning due to the high-risk environments in which they live. However, positive parenting may serve as a protective factor against the influence of risk on children's outcomes. The current study examines the effects of contextual and proximal risks on…
Relationships, environment, and the brain: how emerging research is changing what we know about the impact of families on human development.

PubMed

Patterson, Jo Ellen; Vakili, Susanna

2014-03-01

Recent research is providing family therapists with new information about the complex interaction between an individual's biological makeup and his/her social and physical environment. Family and social relationships, particularly during sensitive periods early in life, can affect a child's biological foundation. Additionally, stress during the early years can have a lasting effect on an individual's physical and mental health and contribute to the onset of severe mental illness. Community programs have been developed to intervene early with families who have an at-risk child to prevent or minimize the onset of mental illness including providing partnerships with at-risk mothers of infants to shape attachment relationships. Programs are also developing individual and family interventions to prevent the onset of psychosis. Practicing family therapists can incorporate emerging neuroscience and early intervention research and leverage the growing base of community programs to enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of mental health outcomes for clients. Additionally, family therapy education programs should broaden student training to incorporate the growing body of information about how family relationships affect individual mental health development. © 2013 FPI, Inc.
Development, epigenetics and metabolic programming

PubMed Central

Godfrey, Keith M; Costello, Paula; Lillycrop, Karen

2016-01-01

It is now widely recognised that the environment in early life can have important effects on human growth and development, including the “programming” of far reaching effects on the risk of developing common metabolic and other non-communicable diseases in later life. We have shown that greater childhood adiposity is associated with higher maternal adiposity, low maternal vitamin D status, excessive gestational weight gain, and short duration of breastfeeding; maternal dietary patterns in pregnancy and vitamin D status have been linked with childhood bone mineral content and muscle function. Human studies have identified fetal liver blood flow adaptations and epigenetic changes as potential mechanisms that could link maternal influences with offspring body composition. In experimental studies there is now substantial evidence that the environment during early life induces altered phenotypes through epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation, covalent modifications of histones and non-coding RNAs can induce changes in gene expression without a change in DNA base sequence. Such processes are involved in cell differentiation and genomic imprinting, as well as the phenomenon of developmental plasticity in response to environmental influences. Elucidation of such epigenetic processes may enable early intervention strategies to improve early development and growth. PMID:27088334
Early Life in a Barren Environment Adversely Affects Spatial Cognition in Laying Hens (Gallus gallus domesticus)

PubMed Central

Tahamtani, Fernanda M.; Nordgreen, Janicke; Nordquist, Rebecca E.; Janczak, Andrew M.

2015-01-01

Spatial cognition in vertebrates is adversely affected by a lack of environmental complexity during early life. However, to our knowledge, no previous studies have tested the effect of early exposure to varying degrees of environmental complexity on specific components of spatial cognition in chickens. There are two main rearing systems for laying hens in the EU: aviaries and cages. These two systems differ from one another in environmental complexity. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that rearing in a barren cage environment relative to a complex aviary environment causes long-lasting deficits in the ability to perform spatial tasks. For this purpose, 24 white Dekalb laying hens, half of which had been reared in an aviary system and the other half in a conventional cage system, were tested in a holeboard task. Birds from both treatment groups learnt the task; however, the cage-reared hens required more time to locate rewards and had poorer levels of working memory. The latter finding supports the hypothesis that rearing in a barren environment causes long-term impairment of short-term memory in chickens. PMID:26664932
Microgravity Effects on the Early Events of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago Truncatula: Results from the SyNRGE Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stutte, Gary W.; Roberts, Michael

2012-01-01

SyNRGE (Symbiotic Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment) was a sortie mission on STS-135 in the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) hardware to study the effect of microgravity on a plant-microbe symbiosis resulting in biological nitrogen fixation. Medicago truncatula, a model species for th legume family, was inoculated with its bacterial symbiont, Sinorhizobium meliloti, to observe early biomolecular events associated with infection and nodulation in Petri Dish Fixation Units (PDFU's).
Changes in the concentrations of four maternal steroids during embryonic development in the threespined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

PubMed

Paitz, Ryan Thomas; Mommer, Brett Christian; Suhr, Elissa; Bell, Alison Marie

2015-08-01

Embryonic exposure to steroids often leads to long-term phenotypic effects. It has been hypothesized that mothers may be able to create a steroid environment that adjusts the phenotypes of offspring to current environmental conditions. Complicating this hypothesis is the potential for developing embryos to modulate their early endocrine environment. This study utilized the threespined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to characterize the early endocrine environment within eggs by measuring four steroids (progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol) of maternal origin. We then examined how the concentrations of these four steroids changed over the first 12 days post fertilization (dpf). Progesterone, testosterone, estradiol, and cortisol of maternal origin could be detected within unfertilized eggs and levels of all four steroids declined in the first 3 days following fertilization. While levels of progesterone, testosterone, and estradiol remained low after the initial decline, levels of cortisol rose again by 8 dpf. These results demonstrate that G. aculeatus embryos begin development in the presence of a number of maternal steroids but levels begin to change quickly following fertilization. This suggests that embryonic processes change the early endocrine environment and hence influence the ability of maternal steroids to affect development. With these findings, G. aculeatus becomes an intriguing system in which to study how selection may act on both maternal and embryonic processes to shape the evolutionary consequence of steroid-mediated maternal effects. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The role of physical activity enjoyment in the pathways from the social and physical environments to physical activity of early adolescent girls.

PubMed

Budd, Elizabeth L; McQueen, Amy; Eyler, Amy A; Haire-Joshu, Debra; Auslander, Wendy F; Brownson, Ross C

2018-06-01

Most girls experience a notable decline in physical activity (PA) in early adolescence, increasing their risk for harmful health outcomes. Enjoyment for PA (i.e., positive feelings toward PA) is a determinant of PA among girls during adolescence and sustained PA throughout adulthood. Previous studies recommended increasing girls' PA enjoyment in order to increase their PA, but did not include environmental-level strategies for how families, schools, or communities do this. To gain insight on such strategies, this study examines the role of PA enjoyment as a mediator of social and physical environments to moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA of early adolescent girls. Cross-sectional, secondary analyses, using structural equation modeling, were conducted on a U.S. national dataset of 1721 sixth grade girls from the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls in 2003. Mediation model fit parameters included χ 2 (292, N = 1721) = 947.73 p < 0.001, CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.04 (90% CI = 0.03, 0.04), and SRMR = 0.037 suggesting overall good fit. There were no indirect effects on PA through PA enjoyment from the social or physical environmental factors. To PA, there were significant direct effects only from social support from friends (β = 0.15, CI = 0.09, 0.22). To PA enjoyment, there were significant direct effects from social support from family (β = 0.15, CI = 0.08, 0.23), school climate (teachers β = 0.15, CI = 0.10, 0.21 and boys β = 0.15, CI = 0.09, 0.20), and neighborhood environment (β = 0.10, CI = 0.04, 0.17). The findings of this study identified several direct effects of the social and physical environment on PA enjoyment that can begin to inform environmental-level strategies for increasing PA enjoyment among early adolescent girls. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Paternal Age Alters Social Development in Offspring.

PubMed

Janecka, Magdalena; Haworth, Claire M A; Ronald, Angelica; Krapohl, Eva; Happé, Francesca; Mill, Jonathan; Schalkwyk, Leonard C; Fernandes, Cathy; Reichenberg, Abraham; Rijsdijk, Frühling

2017-05-01

Advanced paternal age (APA) at conception has been linked with autism and schizophrenia in offspring, neurodevelopmental disorders that affect social functioning. The current study explored the effects of paternal age on social development in the general population. We used multilevel growth modeling to investigate APA effects on socioemotional development from early childhood until adolescence, as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in the Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) sample. We also investigated genetic and environmental underpinnings of the paternal age effects on development, using the Additive genetics, Common environment, unique Environment (ACE) and gene-environment (GxE) models. In the general population, both very young and advanced paternal ages were associated with altered trajectory of social development (intercept: p = .01; slope: p = .03). No other behavioral domain was affected by either young or advanced age at fatherhood, suggesting specificity of paternal age effects. Increased importance of genetic factors in social development was recorded in the offspring of older but not very young fathers, suggesting distinct underpinnings of the paternal age effects at these two extremes. Our findings highlight that the APA-related deficits that lead to autism and schizophrenia are likely continuously distributed in the population. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Sex-Dependent Effects of Cadmium Exposure in Early Life on Gut Microbiota and Fat Accumulation in Mice.

PubMed

Ba, Qian; Li, Mian; Chen, Peizhan; Huang, Chao; Duan, Xiaohua; Lu, Lijun; Li, Jingquan; Chu, Ruiai; Xie, Dong; Song, Haiyun; Wu, Yongning; Ying, Hao; Jia, Xudong; Wang, Hui

2017-03-01

Environmental cadmium, with a high average dietary intake, is a severe public health risk. However, the long-term health implications of environmental exposure to cadmium in different life stages remain unclear. We investigated the effects of early exposure to cadmium, at an environmentally relevant dosage, on adult metabolism and the mechanism of action. We established mouse models with low-dose cadmium (LDC) exposure in early life to examine the long-term metabolic consequences. Intestinal flora measurement by 16S rDNA sequencing, microbial ecological analyses, and fecal microbiota transplant was conducted to explore the potential underlying mechanisms. Early LDC exposure (100 nM) led to fat accumulation in adult male mice. Hepatic genes profiling revealed that fatty acid and lipid metabolic processes were elevated. Gut microbiota were perturbed by LDC to cause diversity reduction and compositional alteration. Time-series studies indicated that the gut flora at early-life stages, especially at 8 weeks, were vulnerable to LDC and that an alteration during this period could contribute to the adult adiposity, even if the microbiota recovered later. The importance of intestinal bacteria in LDC-induced fat accumulation was further confirmed through microbiota transplantation and removal experiments. Moreover, the metabolic effects of LDC were observed only in male, but not female, mice. An environmental dose of cadmium at early stages of life causes gut microbiota alterations, accelerates hepatic lipid metabolism, and leads to life-long metabolic consequences in a sex-dependent manner. These findings provide a better understanding of the health risk of cadmium in the environment. Citation: Ba Q, Li M, Chen P, Huang C, Duan X, Lu L, Li J, Chu R, Xie D, Song H, Wu Y, Ying H, Jia X, Wang H. 2017. Sex-dependent effects of cadmium exposure in early life on gut microbiota and fat accumulation in mice. Environ Health Perspect 125:437-446; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP360.
Sex-Dependent Effects of Cadmium Exposure in Early Life on Gut Microbiota and Fat Accumulation in Mice

PubMed Central

Ba, Qian; Li, Mian; Chen, Peizhan; Huang, Chao; Duan, Xiaohua; Lu, Lijun; Li, Jingquan; Chu, Ruiai; Xie, Dong; Song, Haiyun; Wu, Yongning; Ying, Hao; Jia, Xudong; Wang, Hui

2016-01-01

Background: Environmental cadmium, with a high average dietary intake, is a severe public health risk. However, the long-term health implications of environmental exposure to cadmium in different life stages remain unclear. Objectives: We investigated the effects of early exposure to cadmium, at an environmentally relevant dosage, on adult metabolism and the mechanism of action. Methods: We established mouse models with low-dose cadmium (LDC) exposure in early life to examine the long-term metabolic consequences. Intestinal flora measurement by 16S rDNA sequencing, microbial ecological analyses, and fecal microbiota transplant was conducted to explore the potential underlying mechanisms. Results: Early LDC exposure (100 nM) led to fat accumulation in adult male mice. Hepatic genes profiling revealed that fatty acid and lipid metabolic processes were elevated. Gut microbiota were perturbed by LDC to cause diversity reduction and compositional alteration. Time-series studies indicated that the gut flora at early-life stages, especially at 8 weeks, were vulnerable to LDC and that an alteration during this period could contribute to the adult adiposity, even if the microbiota recovered later. The importance of intestinal bacteria in LDC-induced fat accumulation was further confirmed through microbiota transplantation and removal experiments. Moreover, the metabolic effects of LDC were observed only in male, but not female, mice. Conclusions: An environmental dose of cadmium at early stages of life causes gut microbiota alterations, accelerates hepatic lipid metabolism, and leads to life-long metabolic consequences in a sex-dependent manner. These findings provide a better understanding of the health risk of cadmium in the environment. Citation: Ba Q, Li M, Chen P, Huang C, Duan X, Lu L, Li J, Chu R, Xie D, Song H, Wu Y, Ying H, Jia X, Wang H. 2017. Sex-dependent effects of cadmium exposure in early life on gut microbiota and fat accumulation in mice. Environ Health Perspect 125:437–446; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP360 PMID:27634282
Early Childhood Environmental Education in Tropical and Coastal Areas: A Meta-Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawitri, D. R.

2017-02-01

Early childhood years are the period of the greatest and most significant developments in ones’ life, and are generally regarded as the basis upon which the rest of their life is constructed. However, these early years are those that traditionally have received the least attention from environmental education. This paper was aimed to summarize several day-to-day activities that can be conducted to educate children in their early years about environment. Environmental education is an educational process that deals with the human interrelationships with the environment, and that uses an interdisciplinary problem solving approach with value clarification. Environmental education is aimed at producing a community that is knowledgeable about the biophysical environment and its associated problems, aware of how to solve these problems, and enthusiastic to work toward their solution. It highlights the progress of knowledge, understanding, attitudes, skills, and commitment for environmental problems and considerations. Further, environmental education can help children expand their ecological worldview, promote active care to the environment, and explain the relationship between modern life style and current environmental problems. Several types of environmental education have been identified from the literature, such as outdoor activities in natural outdoor setting, school gardening, play-based learning, and drawing activities. Each of these activities has its own characteristics and effects on children’s environmental-related attitudes and behaviors. Through these activities, the unique characteristics of tropical and coastal areas can potentially be used to facilitate children to learn about nature and environment. Recommendations for childhood education practitioners and future researchers are discussed.
Early life influences on emotional reactivity: evidence that social enrichment has greater effects than handling on anxiety-like behaviors, neuroendocrine responses to stress and central BDNF levels.

PubMed

Cirulli, Francesca; Berry, Alessandra; Bonsignore, Luca Tommaso; Capone, Francesca; D'Andrea, Ivana; Aloe, Luigi; Branchi, Igor; Alleva, Enrico

2010-05-01

During the early post-natal phases the brain is experience-seeking and provided by a considerable plasticity which allows a fine tuning between the external environment and the developing organism. Since the early work of Seymour Levine, an impressive amount of research has clearly shown that stressful experiences exert powerful effects on the brain and body development. These effects can last throughout the entire life span influencing brain function and increasing the risk for depression and anxiety disorders. The mechanisms underlying the effects of early stress on the developing organism have been widely studied in rodents through experimental manipulations of the post-natal environment, such as handling, which have been shown to exert important effects on the emotional phenotype and the response to stress. In the present paper we review the relevant literature and present some original data indicating that, compared to handling, which imposes an external manipulation on the mother-infant relationship, social enrichment, in the form of communal rearing, in mice has very profound effects on animal's emotionality and the response to stress. These effects are also accompanied by important changes in central levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The present data indicate that communal rearing has more pervasive effects than handling, strengthening previous data suggesting that it is a good animal model of reduced susceptibility to depression-like behavior. Overall, the availability of ever more sophisticated animal models represents a fundamental tool to translate basic research data into appropriate interventions for humans raised under traumatic or impoverished situations. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Associations of Early- and Later-Childhood Poverty With Child Cognitive Function in Indonesia: Effect Decomposition in the Presence of Exposure-Induced Mediator-Outcome Confounding.

PubMed

Maika, Amelia; Mittinty, Murthy N; Brinkman, Sally; Lynch, John

2017-05-15

The amount of family financial resources available in early life influences child health and development. Using data from the 2000 and 2007 waves of the Indonesian Family Life Survey, we estimated the associations of early-life poverty (at age <7 years) and poverty in later childhood (at age 7-14 years) with cognitive function at age 7-14 years. Our analysis provided little support for the idea that an early intervention to support household income has a larger effect than intervention later in childhood; both seemed equally important. We also decomposed the effect of poverty at age <7 years into direct and indirect effects mediated through poverty and schooling/home environment at age 7-14 years. For decomposing the effects, we used 3 approaches: 1) joint mediators, 2) path-specific, and 3) intervention analog. Being exposed to poverty before age 7 years had a larger direct effect (difference in cognitive function z score) on child cognitive function at age 7-14 years (i.e., joint mediators β = -0.07, 95% confidence interval: -0.12, -0.02) than the indirect effects mediated through later poverty at age 7-14 years (β = -0.01, 95% confidence interval: -0.04, 0.01) and school attendance/home environment at age 7-14 years. The effect of poverty on cognitive function was small; nevertheless, financial intervention may still benefit children's cognitive function. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Expert Practitioner's Views about the Chinese Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Bi Ying; Vong, Keang-ieng; Chen, Yuewen; Li, Kejian

2015-01-01

This study aims to examine the views of 176 expert practitioners on the relevance and feasibility of applying the Chinese Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (CECERS), which is developed based on the Chinese version of Harms, Clifford, and Cryer's (2005) world renowned Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-revised (ECERS-R). The CECERS…
Virtual Chemistry Laboratory: Effect of Constructivist Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatli, Zeynep; Ayas, Alipasa

2012-01-01

The lab applications, which were started to be applied through mid 19th century, not only provide a new point of view but also bring about a new dimension to the lessons. At early times they were used to prove theoretical knowledge but lately they turned into environments where students freely discover knowledge as an individual or in groups. The…
Gender-specific effects of early nutritional restriction on adult obesity risk: evidence from quasi-experimental studies.

PubMed

Robinson, Whitney R

2012-12-01

In countries undergoing nutrition transition and historically poor minority groups in wealthy countries, obesity tends to be more common in women than men. A potential contributor to this female excess of obesity is a mismatch between perinatal nutritional restriction and a later calorie-rich environment. Several epidemiologic and quasi-experimental studies support a gender-differential effect of early nutritional deprivation on adult obesity. The quasi-experimental studies are of particular interest because results of quasi-experimental studies are typically less vulnerable to confounding bias than observational studies. Four quasi-experimental studies-exploiting 20th century famines that occurred in Europe, Africa, and Asia-provide evidence that perinatal nutritional restriction followed by relative caloric abundance may increase adult obesity risk to a greater extent in women than men. If the findings are accurate and generalizable to contemporary food environments, they suggest that the female offspring of poor, or otherwise nutritionally restricted, women in rapidly developing and wealthy countries may be at particularly high risk of adult obesity. Research into gender-specific effects of early life nutritional deprivation and its interactions with later environmental exposures may provide insight into global gender differences in obesity prevalence.
Early diagnosis of autism and impact on prognosis: a narrative review

PubMed Central

Fernell, Elisabeth; Eriksson, Mats Anders; Gillberg, Christopher

2013-01-01

Autism spectrum disorders involve a set of clinical phenotypes that mirror an early onset of neurodevelopmental deviations, with core symptoms that can probably be related to a deficiency in the social instinct. Underlying the cognitive impairments there are physiological brain problems, caused by a large number of medical factors. This narrative review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses from the last 5 years (2008–2012) presents aspects from many areas in autism spectrum disorder research, with a particular focus on early intervention and the subsequent impact on prognosis. Other major areas discussed are epidemiology, early symptoms and screening, early diagnosis, neuropsychology, medical factors, and the existence of comorbidities. There is limited evidence that any of the broadband “early intervention” programs are effective in changing the natural long-term outcome for many individuals with an early diagnosis of autism. However, there is some evidence that Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) is an effective treatment for some children with ASD. Nevertheless, there is emerging consensus that early diagnosis and information are needed in order that an autism-friendly environment be “created” around affected individuals. PMID:23459124
Effects of Emotional Needs on Participation of Children Aged 4-6 with Learning Disabilities in Early Childhood Centers in Starehe Division, Nairobi County, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lilian, Ganira Khavugwi; Odundo, Paul Amolo; Ngaruiya, Boniface

2015-01-01

During early childhood, the foundations for emotional, social and spiritual well being of children with learning disabilities (CWLD) are laid. The CWLD emotional well being is influenced by all the experiences they go through. It is essential to provide warm, trusting relationships, predictable and safe environment, affirmation and respect for all…
Incentive Early Retirement Programs for Faculty: Innovative Responses to a Changing Environment. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 1, 1987.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chronister, Jay L.; Kepple, Thomas R., Jr.

The literature on incentive early retirement for faculty members is reviewed, including the findings of studies that have assessed the effectiveness of such programs. In addition to describing different types of programs and the incentives offered, attention is directed to legal issues, costs and benefits, assessing whether a program is feasible,…

Identifying Effective Behavior Management in the Early Childhood Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Victor, Kelly Rae

2005-01-01

Every educator has a dream to maintain a classroom free from disruptions; one in which each child is being molded, shaped, and corrected in a loving and caring environment that inspires appropriate behavior. The purpose of this research project was to determine how to create an effective behavior management plan and effectively teach classroom…
The moderating effect of ANKK1 on the association of family environment with longitudinal executive function following traumatic brain injury in early childhood: A preliminary study.

PubMed

Smith-Paine, Julia; Wade, Shari L; Treble-Barna, Amery; Zhang, Nanhua; Zang, Huaiyu; Martin, Lisa J; Yeates, Keith Owen; Taylor, H Gerry; Kurowski, Brad G

2018-05-02

This study examined whether the ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1 gene (ANKK1) C/T single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1800497 moderated the association of family environment with long-term executive function (EF) following traumatic injury in early childhood. Caregivers of children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and children with orthopedic injury (OI) completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) at post injury visits. DNA was collected to identify the rs1800497 genotype in the ANKK1 gene. General linear models examined gene-environment interactions as moderators of the effects of TBI on EF at two times post injury (12 months and 7 years). At 12 months post injury, analyses revealed a significant 3-way interaction of genotype with level of permissive parenting and injury type. Post-hoc analyses showed genetic effects were more pronounced for children with TBI from more positive family environments, such that children with TBI who were carriers of the risk allele (T-allele) had significantly poorer EF compared to non-carriers only when they were from more advantaged environments. At 7 years post injury, analyses revealed a significant 2-way interaction of genotype with level of authoritarian parenting. Post-hoc analyses found that carriers of the risk allele had significantly poorer EF compared to non-carriers only when they were from more advantaged environments. These results suggest a gene-environment interaction involving the ANKK1 gene as a predictor of EF in a pediatric injury population. The findings highlight the importance of considering environmental influences in future genetic studies on recovery following TBI and other traumatic injuries in childhood.
CREME96 and Related Error Rate Prediction Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, James H., Jr.

2012-01-01

Predicting the rate of occurrence of single event effects (SEEs) in space requires knowledge of the radiation environment and the response of electronic devices to that environment. Several analytical models have been developed over the past 36 years to predict SEE rates. The first error rate calculations were performed by Binder, Smith and Holman. Bradford and Pickel and Blandford, in their CRIER (Cosmic-Ray-Induced-Error-Rate) analysis code introduced the basic Rectangular ParallelePiped (RPP) method for error rate calculations. For the radiation environment at the part, both made use of the Cosmic Ray LET (Linear Energy Transfer) spectra calculated by Heinrich for various absorber Depths. A more detailed model for the space radiation environment within spacecraft was developed by Adams and co-workers. This model, together with a reformulation of the RPP method published by Pickel and Blandford, was used to create the CR ME (Cosmic Ray Effects on Micro-Electronics) code. About the same time Shapiro wrote the CRUP (Cosmic Ray Upset Program) based on the RPP method published by Bradford. It was the first code to specifically take into account charge collection from outside the depletion region due to deformation of the electric field caused by the incident cosmic ray. Other early rate prediction methods and codes include the Single Event Figure of Merit, NOVICE, the Space Radiation code and the effective flux method of Binder which is the basis of the SEFA (Scott Effective Flux Approximation) model. By the early 1990s it was becoming clear that CREME and the other early models needed Revision. This revision, CREME96, was completed and released as a WWW-based tool, one of the first of its kind. The revisions in CREME96 included improved environmental models and improved models for calculating single event effects. The need for a revision of CREME also stimulated the development of the CHIME (CRRES/SPACERAD Heavy Ion Model of the Environment) and MACREE (Modeling and Analysis of Cosmic Ray Effects in Electronics). The Single Event Figure of Merit method was also revised to use the solar minimum galactic cosmic ray spectrum and extended to circular orbits down to 200 km at any inclination. More recently a series of commercial codes was developed by TRAD (Test & Radiations) which includes the OMERE code which calculates single event effects. There are other error rate prediction methods which use Monte Carlo techniques. In this chapter the analytic methods for estimating the environment within spacecraft will be discussed.
Virtual reality interventions for rehabilitation: considerations for developing protocols.

PubMed

Boechler, Patricia; Krol, Andrea; Raso, Jim; Blois, Terry

2009-01-01

This paper is a preliminary report on a work in progress that explores the existence of practice effects in early use of virtual reality environments for rehabilitation purposes and the effects of increases in level of difficulty as defined by rate of on-screen objects.
Reliability and Validity of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised Edition, ECERS-R in Arabic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadeed, Julie

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to test reliabilities and validations for the Arabic translation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Revised (ECERS-R) scale [Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (1998). "Early childhood environment rating scale, revised edition." New York: Teachers College Press]. ECERS-R mean scores were…
Student Teacher Views of Text in Early Learning Environments: Images from Sweden and New Zealand

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mellgren, Elisabeth; Margrain, Valerie

2015-01-01

A total of 659 photographs of text in early childhood environments were gathered by student teachers in New Zealand and Sweden, replicating an earlier Swedish study [Gustafsson, K., & Mellgren, E. (2002)." Using text in pre-school: A Learning Environment." "Early Child Development and Care", 172(6), 603-624]. The findings…
Assessing Home Environment for Early Child Development in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nadeem, Sanober; Rafique, Ghazala; Khowaja, Liaquat; Yameen, Anjum

2014-01-01

Family environment plays a very important role in early child development and the availability of stimulating material in the early years of a child's life is crucial for optimising development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory is one of the most widely used measures to assess the quality and quantity of…
34 CFR 303.126 - Early intervention services in natural environments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Early intervention services in natural environments...) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EARLY INTERVENTION... Statewide System Minimum Components of A Statewide System § 303.126 Early intervention services in natural...
34 CFR 303.126 - Early intervention services in natural environments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Early intervention services in natural environments. 303...) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EARLY INTERVENTION... Statewide System Minimum Components of A Statewide System § 303.126 Early intervention services in natural...
34 CFR 303.126 - Early intervention services in natural environments.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Early intervention services in natural environments...) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EARLY INTERVENTION... Statewide System Minimum Components of A Statewide System § 303.126 Early intervention services in natural...
Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America’s future workforce

PubMed Central

Knudsen, Eric I.; Heckman, James J.; Cameron, Judy L.; Shonkoff, Jack P.

2006-01-01

A growing proportion of the U.S. workforce will have been raised in disadvantaged environments that are associated with relatively high proportions of individuals with diminished cognitive and social skills. A cross-disciplinary examination of research in economics, developmental psychology, and neurobiology reveals a striking convergence on a set of common principles that account for the potent effects of early environment on the capacity for human skill development. Central to these principles are the findings that early experiences have a uniquely powerful influence on the development of cognitive and social skills and on brain architecture and neurochemistry, that both skill development and brain maturation are hierarchical processes in which higher level functions depend on, and build on, lower level functions, and that the capacity for change in the foundations of human skill development and neural circuitry is highest earlier in life and decreases over time. These findings lead to the conclusion that the most efficient strategy for strengthening the future workforce, both economically and neurobiologically, and improving its quality of life is to invest in the environments of disadvantaged children during the early childhood years. PMID:16801553
The influence of the neighborhood physical environment on early child health and development: A review and call for research.

PubMed

Christian, Hayley; Zubrick, Stephen R; Foster, Sarah; Giles-Corti, Billie; Bull, Fiona; Wood, Lisa; Knuiman, Matthew; Brinkman, Sally; Houghton, Stephen; Boruff, Bryan

2015-05-01

This review examines evidence of the association between the neighborhood built environment, green spaces and outdoor home area, and early (0-7 years) child health and development. There was evidence that the presence of child relevant neighborhood destinations and services were positively associated with early child development domains of physical health and wellbeing and social competence. Parents׳ perceptions of neighborhood safety were positively associated with children׳s social-emotional development and general health. Population representative studies using objective measures of the built environment and valid measures of early child development are warranted to understand the impact of the built environment on early child health and development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Social Influences on Neurobiology and Behavior: Epigenetic Effects During Development

PubMed Central

Curley, JP; Jensen, CL; Mashoodh, R; Champagne, FA

2010-01-01

The quality of the social environment can have profound influences on the development and activity of neural systems with implications for numerous behavioral and physiological responses, including the expression of emotionality. Though social experiences occurring early in development may be particularly influential on the developing brain, there is continued plasticity within these neural circuits amongst juveniles and into early adulthood. In this review, we explore the evidence derived from studies in rodents which illustrates the social modulation during development of neural systems, with a particular emphasis on those systems in which a long-term effect is observed. One possible explanation for the persistence of dynamic changes in these systems in response to the environment is the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms, and here we discuss recent studies which support the role of these mechanisms in mediating the link between social experiences, gene expression, neurobiological changes, and behavioral variation. This literature raises critical questions about the interaction between neural systems, the concordance between neural and behavioral changes, sexual dimorphism in effects, the importance of considering individual differences in response to the social environment, and the potential of an epigenetic perspective in advancing our understanding of the pathways leading to variations in mental health. PMID:20650569
Pubertal timing and early sexual intercourse in the offspring of teenage mothers.

PubMed

De Genna, Natacha M; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D

2011-10-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12-18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10 and 14 years old (n = 318). Adolescents (50% male) compared the timing of their pubertal maturation to same-sex peers. There was a significant 3-way interaction effect of race, sex, and pubertal timing on sexual debut (n = 305). This effect remained significant in a model controlling for maternal age at first intercourse, substance use, exposure to trauma, authoritative parenting, and peer sexual activity (n = 255). Early maturation was associated with early sex in daughters, and may be one pathway for the inter-generational transfer of risk for teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenage mothers.
Pubertal Timing and Early Sexual Intercourse in the Offspring of Teenage Mothers

PubMed Central

De Genna, Natacha M.; Larkby, Cynthia; Cornelius, Marie D.

2011-01-01

Early puberty is associated with stressful family environments, early sexual intercourse, and teenage pregnancy. We examined pubertal timing and sexual debut among the 14-year-old offspring of teenage mothers. Mothers (71% Black, 29% White) were recruited as pregnant teenagers (12–18 years old). Data were collected during pregnancy and when offspring were 6, 10 and 14 years old (n = 318). Adolescents (50% male) compared the timing of their pubertal maturation to same-sex peers. There was a significant 3-way interaction effect of race, sex, and pubertal timing on sexual debut (n = 305). This effect remained significant in a model controlling for maternal age at first intercourse, substance use, exposure to trauma, authoritative parenting, and peer sexual activity (n = 255). Early maturation was associated with early sex in daughters, and may be one pathway for the inter-generational transfer of risk for teenage pregnancy among daughters of teenage mothers. PMID:21279428
Aspherical Supernovae: Effects on Early Light Curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afsariardchi, Niloufar; Matzner, Christopher D.

2018-04-01

Early light from core-collapse supernovae, now detectable in high-cadence surveys, holds clues to a star and its environment just before it explodes. However, effects that alter the early light have not been fully explored. We highlight the possibility of nonradial flows at the time of shock breakout. These develop in sufficiently nonspherical explosions if the progenitor is not too diffuse. When they do develop, nonradial flows limit ejecta speeds and cause ejecta–ejecta collisions. We explore these phenomena and their observational implications using global, axisymmetric, nonrelativistic FLASH simulations of simplified polytropic progenitors, which we scale to representative stars. We develop a method to track photon production within the ejecta, enabling us to estimate band-dependent light curves from adiabatic simulations. Immediate breakout emission becomes hidden as an oblique flow develops. Nonspherical effects lead the shock-heated ejecta to release a more constant luminosity at a higher, evolving color temperature at early times, effectively mixing breakout light with the early light curve. Collisions between nonradial ejecta thermalize a small fraction of the explosion energy; we will address emission from these collisions in a subsequent paper.
The family environment predicts long-term academic achievement and classroom behavior following traumatic brain injury in early childhood.

PubMed

Durber, Chelsea M; Yeates, Keith Owen; Taylor, H Gerry; Walz, Nicolay Chertkoff; Stancin, Terry; Wade, Shari L

2017-07-01

This study examined how the family environment predicts long-term academic and behavioral functioning in school following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in early childhood. Using a concurrent cohort, prospective design, 15 children with severe TBI, 39 with moderate TBI, and 70 with orthopedic injury (OI) who were injured when they were 3-7 years of age were compared on tests of academic achievement and parent and teacher ratings of school performance and behavior on average 6.83 years postinjury. Soon after injury and at the longer term follow-up, families completed measures of parental psychological distress, family functioning, and quality of the home environment. Hierarchical linear regression analyses examined group differences in academic outcomes and their associations with measures of the early and later family environment. The severe TBI group, but not the moderate TBI group, performed worse than did the OI group on all achievement tests, parent ratings of academic performance, and teacher ratings of internalizing problems. Higher quality early and late home environments predicted stronger academic skills and better classroom behavior for children with both TBI and OI. The early family environment more consistently predicted academic achievement, whereas the later family environment more consistently predicted classroom functioning. The quality of the home environment predicted academic outcomes more strongly than did parental psychological distress or family functioning. TBI in early childhood has long-term consequences for academic achievement and school performance and behavior. Higher quality early and later home environments predict better school outcomes for both children with TBI and children with OI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
The role of the early-life environment in the development of allergic disease.

PubMed

Wegienka, Ganesa; Zoratti, Edward; Johnson, Christine Cole

2015-02-01

A consensus has been reached that the development of allergic disorders is strongly influenced by early life exposures. An overview of several prenatal and early life factors that have been investigated for their associations with development of childhood allergy is presented. Delivery mode, the gut microbiome, vitamin D, folate, breastfeeding, pets, antibiotics, environmental tobacco smoke, and airborne traffic pollutants are discussed. Although many studies suggest an effect, overall, no risk factors clearly increase or reduce the risk of allergic outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The origin and early evolution of life on earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oro, J.; Miller, Stanley L.; Lazcano, Antonio

1990-01-01

Results of the studies that have provided insights into the cosmic and primitive earth environments are reviewed with emphasis on those environments in which life is thought to have originated. The evidence bearing on the antiquity of life on the earth and the prebiotic significance of organic compounds found in interstellar clouds and in primitive solar-system bodies such as comets, dark asteroids, and carbonaceous chondrites are assessed. The environmental models of the Hadean and early Archean earth are discussed, as well as the prebiotic formation of organic monomers and polymers essential to life. The processes that may have led to the appearance in the Archean of the first cells are considered, and possible effects of these processes on the early steps of biological evolution are analyzed. The significance of these results to the study of the distribution of life in the universe is evaluated.
Maternal high fat diet promotion of mammary tumor risk in adult progeny is associated with early expansion of mammary cancer stem-like cells and increased maternal oxidative environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Many adult chronic diseases might be programmed during early life by maternal nutritional history. Here, we evaluated effects of maternal high fat diet on mammary gland development and tumor formation in adult progeny. Female Wnt-1 transgenic mice exposed to high fat (HFD, 45% kcal fat) or control C...

The Importance of Teacher Role in Cooperative Learning: The Effects of High-Stakes Testing on Pedagogical Approaches of Early Career Teachers in Primary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson-Patrick, Kate

2018-01-01

Cooperative learning (CL) has a strong research base, but it is underutilised. This can be explained by teachers' reluctance to experiment with pedagogies in an environment increasingly focused on high-stakes testing. Early career teachers (ECTs) need support to be innovative practitioners, particularly with such a complex one as CL. The teacher's…
Early Environmental Enrichment Enhances Abnormal Brain Connectivity in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction.

PubMed

Illa, Miriam; Brito, Verónica; Pla, Laura; Eixarch, Elisenda; Arbat-Plana, Ariadna; Batallé, Dafnis; Muñoz-Moreno, Emma; Crispi, Fatima; Udina, Esther; Figueras, Francesc; Ginés, Silvia; Gratacós, Eduard

2017-10-12

The structural correspondence of neurodevelopmental impairments related to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) that persists later in life remains elusive. Moreover, early postnatal stimulation strategies have been proposed to mitigate these effects. Long-term brain connectivity abnormalities in an IUGR rabbit model and the effects of early postnatal environmental enrichment (EE) were explored. IUGR was surgically induced in one horn, whereas the contralateral one produced the controls. Postnatally, a subgroup of IUGR animals was housed in an enriched environment. Functional assessment was performed at the neonatal and long-term periods. At the long-term period, structural brain connectivity was evaluated by means of diffusion-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging and by histological assessment focused on the hippocampus. IUGR animals displayed poorer functional results and presented altered whole-brain networks and decreased median fractional anisotropy in the hippocampus. Reduced density of dendritic spines and perineuronal nets from hippocampal neurons were also observed. Of note, IUGR animals exposed to enriched environment presented an improvement in terms of both function and structure. IUGR is associated with altered brain connectivity at the global and cellular level. A strategy based on early EE has the potential to restore the neurodevelopmental consequences of IUGR. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Integrating Computer Technology in Early Childhood Education Environments: Issues Raised by Early Childhood Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Eileen; Specht, Jacqueline; Willoughby, Teena; Mueller, Julie

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the educators' perspectives on the introduction of computer technology in the early childhood education environment. Fifty early childhood educators completed a survey and participated in focus groups. Parallels existed between the individually completed survey data and the focus group discussions. The…
Linking the Gut Microbial Ecosystem with the Environment: Does Gut Health Depend on Where We Live?

PubMed Central

Tasnim, Nishat; Abulizi, Nijiati; Pither, Jason; Hart, Miranda M.; Gibson, Deanna L.

2017-01-01

Global comparisons reveal a decrease in gut microbiota diversity attributed to Western diets, lifestyle practices such as caesarian section, antibiotic use and formula-feeding of infants, and sanitation of the living environment. While gut microbial diversity is decreasing, the prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, obesity, allergies and asthma is on the rise in Westernized societies. Since the immune system development is influenced by microbial components, early microbial colonization may be a key factor in determining disease susceptibility patterns later in life. Evidence indicates that the gut microbiota is vertically transmitted from the mother and this affects offspring immunity. However, the role of the external environment in gut microbiome and immune development is poorly understood. Studies show that growing up in microbe-rich environments, such as traditional farms, can have protective health effects on children. These health-effects may be ablated due to changes in the human lifestyle, diet, living environment and environmental biodiversity as a result of urbanization. Importantly, if early-life exposure to environmental microbes increases gut microbiota diversity by influencing patterns of gut microbial assembly, then soil biodiversity loss due to land-use changes such as urbanization could be a public health threat. Here, we summarize key questions in environmental health research and discuss some of the challenges that have hindered progress toward a better understanding of the role of the environment on gut microbiome development. PMID:29056933
From cytoplasm to environment: the inorganic ingredients for the origin of life.

PubMed

Novoselov, Alexey A; Serrano, Paloma; Pacheco, Mírian Liza Alves Forancelli; Chaffin, Michael Scott; O'Malley-James, Jack Thomas; Moreno, Susan Carla; Ribeiro, Filipe Batista

2013-03-01

Early in its history, Earth's surface developed from an uninhabitable magma ocean to a place where life could emerge. The first organisms, lacking ion transporters, fixed the composition of their cradle environment in their intracellular fluid. Later, though life adapted and spread, it preserved some qualities of its initial environment within. Modern prokaryotes could thus provide insights into the conditions of early Earth and the requirements for the emergence of life. In this work, we constrain Earth's life-forming environment through detailed analysis of prokaryotic intracellular fluid. Rigorous assessment of the constraints placed on the early Earth environment by intracellular liquid will provide insight into the conditions of abiogenesis, with implications not only for our understanding of early Earth but also the formation of life elsewhere in the Universe.
Early preschool environments and gender: Effects of gender pedagogy in Sweden.

PubMed

Shutts, Kristin; Kenward, Ben; Falk, Helena; Ivegran, Anna; Fawcett, Christine

2017-10-01

To test how early social environments affect children's consideration of gender, 3- to 6-year-old children (N=80) enrolled in gender-neutral or typical preschool programs in the central district of a large Swedish city completed measures designed to assess their gender-based social preferences, stereotypes, and automatic encoding. Compared with children in typical preschools, a greater proportion of children in the gender-neutral school were interested in playing with unfamiliar other-gender children. In addition, children attending the gender-neutral preschool scored lower on a gender stereotyping measure than children attending typical preschools. Children at the gender-neutral school, however, were not less likely to automatically encode others' gender. The findings suggest that gender-neutral pedagogy has moderate effects on how children think and feel about people of different genders but might not affect children's tendency to spontaneously notice gender. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Parent-directed approaches to enrich the early language environments of children living in poverty.

PubMed

Leffel, Kristin; Suskind, Dana

2013-11-01

Children's early language environments are critical for their cognitive development, school readiness, and ultimate educational attainment. Significant disparities exist in these environments, with profound and lasting impacts upon children's ultimate outcomes. Children from backgrounds of low socioeconomic status experience diminished language inputs and enter school at a disadvantage, with disparities persisting throughout their educational careers. Parents are positioned as powerful agents of change in their children's lives, however, and evidence indicates that parent-directed intervention is effective in improving child outcomes. This article explores the efficacy of parent-directed interventions and their potential applicability to the wider educational achievement gap seen in typically developing populations of low socioeconomic status and then describes efforts to develop such interventions with the Thirty Million Words Project and Project ASPIRE (Achieving Superior Parental Involvement for Rehabilitative Excellence) curricula. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.
Factors associated with a positive attitude towards change among employees during the early phase of a downsizing process.

PubMed

Svensen, Erling; Neset, Gunnar; Eriksen, Hege R

2007-04-01

Most research on organizational changes in working life, including downsizing, focuses on the negative attitudes and negative consequences of the change. The aim of this study was to evaluate if the employee's previous learning experience and characteristics of the working environment were associated with positive attitudes towards organizational change. The 467 employees (73.5% males) working in a global oil company in the early phases of a downsizing process were asked to answer a questionnaire with demographic variables, perception of the working environment, and attitude to change (93% response rate). Corporate social responsibility (CSR), involvement and participation, team leadership and team effectiveness were important factors related to positive attitudes towards organizational change. Non-leaders and older employees were positive to change. We conclude that employees' perceptions of their psychosocial working environment, in particular the CSR, were highly related to their attitude to organizational change.
Language Delays and Child Depressive Symptoms: the Role of Early Stimulation in the Home.

PubMed

Herman, Keith C; Cohen, Daniel; Owens, Sarah; Latimore, Tracey; Reinke, Wendy M; Burrell, Lori; McFarlane, Elizabeth; Duggan, Anne

2016-07-01

The present study investigated the role of early stimulation in the home and child language delays in the emergence of depressive symptoms. Data were from a longitudinal study of at-risk children in Hawaii (n = 587). Low learning stimulation in the home at age 3 and language delays in first grade both significantly increased risk for child depressive symptoms in third grade. Structural equation modeling supported the hypothesized path models from home learning environment at age 3 to depressive symptoms in third grade controlling for a host of correlated constructs (maternal depression, child temperament, and child internalizing symptoms). Total language skills in the first grade mediated the effect of home learning environment on depressive symptoms. The study and findings fit well with a nurturing environment perspective. Implications for understanding the etiology of child depression and for designing interventions and prevention strategies are discussed.
Physical Origins of Space Weather Impacts: Open Physics Questions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanzerotti, L. J.

2011-12-01

Beginning with the era of development of electrical telegraph systems in the early 19th century, physical processes in the space environment on the Sun, in the interplanetary medium, and around Earth have influenced the design and operations of ever-increasing and sophisticated technical systems, both in space and on the ground. Understanding of Earth's space environment has increased enormously in the last century and one-half. Nevertheless, many of the physical processes that produced effects on early cable and wireless technologies continue to plague modern-day systems. And as new technologies are developed for improved communications, surveillance, navigation, and conditions for human space flight, the solar-terrestrial environment often offers surprises to their safe, secure and uninterrupted operations. This talk will address some of the challenges that I see to the successful operations of some modern-day technical systems that are posed by significant deficiencies of understanding of physical processes operating from the Sun to the Earth.
Early-life Origins of Lifecycle Well-being: Research and Policy Implications

PubMed Central

Currie, Janet; Rossin-Slater, Maya

2016-01-01

Mounting evidence across different disciplines suggests that early-life conditions can have consequences on individual outcomes throughout the lifecycle. Relative to other developed countries, the United States fares poorly on standard indicators of early-life health, and this disadvantage may have profound consequences not only for population well-being, but also for economic growth and competitiveness in a global economy. In this paper, we first discuss the research on the strength of the link between early-life health and adult outcomes, and then provide an evidence-based review of the effectiveness of existing U.S. policies targeting the early-life environment. We conclude that there is a robust and economically meaningful relationship between early-life conditions and well-being throughout the lifecycle, as measured by adult health, educational attainment, labor market attachment, and other indicators of socio-economic status. However, there is some variation in the degree to which current policies in the U.S. are effective in improving early-life conditions. Among existing programs, some of the most effective are the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), home visiting with nurse practitioners, and high-quality, center-based early childhood care and education. In contrast, the evidence on other policies such as prenatal care and family leave is more mixed and limited. PMID:25558491
Early-life origins of life-cycle well-being: research and policy implications.

PubMed

Currie, Janet; Rossin-Slater, Maya

2015-01-01

Mounting evidence across different disciplines suggests that early-life conditions can have consequences on individual outcomes throughout the life cycle. Relative to other developed countries, the United States fares poorly on standard indicators of early-life health, and this disadvantage may have profound consequences not only for population well-being, but also for economic growth and competitiveness in a global economy. In this paper, we first discuss the research on the strength of the link between early-life health and adult outcomes, and then provide an evidence-based review of the effectiveness of existing U.S. policies targeting the early-life environment. We conclude that there is a robust and economically meaningful relationship between early-life conditions and well-being throughout the life cycle, as measured by adult health, educational attainment, labor market attachment, and other indicators of socioeconomic status. However, there is some variation in the degree to which current policies in the United States are effective in improving early-life conditions. Among existing programs, some of the most effective are the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), home visiting with nurse practitioners, and high-quality, center-based early-childhood care and education. In contrast, the evidence on other policies such as prenatal care and family leave is more mixed and limited.
Resilience of the Nexus of Competitive Water Consumption between Human Society and Environment Development: Regime Shifts and Early Warning Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z.; Liu, P.; Feng, M.; Zhang, J.

2017-12-01

Based on the modeling of the water supply, power generation and environment (WPE) nexus by Feng et al. (2016), a refined theoretical model of competitive water consumption between human society and environment has been presented in this study, examining the role of technology advancement and social environmental awareness growth-induced pollution mitigation to the environment as a mechanism for the establishment and maintenance of the coexistence of both higher social water consumption and improved environment condition. By coupling environmental and social dynamics, both of which are represented by water consumption quantity, this study shows the possibility of sustainable situation of the social-environmental system when the benefit of technology offsets the side effect (pollution) of social development to the environment. Additionally, regime shifts could be triggered by gradually increased pollution rate, climate change-induced natural resources reduction and breakdown of the social environmental awareness. Therefore, in order to foresee the pending abrupt regime shifts of the system, early warning signals, including increasing variance and autocorrelation, have been examined when the system is undergoing stochastic disturbance. ADDIN EN.REFLIST Feng, M. et al., 2016. Modeling the nexus across water supply, power generation and environment systems using the system dynamics approach: Hehuang Region, China. J. Hydrol., 543: 344-359.
Early-Life Stress Affects Stress-Related Prefrontal Dopamine Activity in Healthy Adults, but Not in Individuals with Psychotic Disorder

PubMed Central

Kasanova, Zuzana; Hernaus, Dennis; Vaessen, Thomas; van Amelsvoort, Thérèse; Winz, Oliver; Heinzel, Alexander; Pruessner, Jens; Mottaghy, Felix M.

2016-01-01

Early life stress may have a lasting impact on the developmental programming of the dopamine (DA) system implicated in psychosis. Early adversity could promote resilience by calibrating the prefrontal stress-regulatory dopaminergic neurotransmission to improve the individual’s fit with the predicted stressful environment. Aberrant reactivity to such match between proximal and distal environments may, however, enhance psychosis disease risk. We explored the combined effects of childhood adversity and adult stress by exposing 12 unmedicated individuals with a diagnosis of non-affective psychotic disorder (NAPD) and 12 healthy controls (HC) to psychosocial stress during an [18F]fallypride positron emission tomography. Childhood trauma divided into early (ages 0–11 years) and late (12–18 years) was assessed retrospectively using a questionnaire. A significant group x childhood trauma interaction on the spatial extent of stress-related [18F]fallypride displacement was observed in the mPFC for early (b = -8.45, t(1,23) = -3.35, p = .004) and late childhood trauma (b = -7.86, t(1,23) = -2.48, p = .023). In healthy individuals, the spatial extent of mPFC DA activity under acute psychosocial stress was positively associated with the severity of early (b = 7.23, t(11) = 3.06, p = .016) as well as late childhood trauma (b = -7.86, t(1,23) = -2.48, p = .023). Additionally, a trend-level main effect of early childhood trauma on subjective stress response emerged within this group (b = -.7, t(11) = -2, p = .07), where higher early trauma correlated with lower subjective stress response to the task. In the NAPD group, childhood trauma was not associated with the spatial extent of the tracer displacement in mPFC (b = -1.22, t(11) = -0.67), nor was there a main effect of trauma on the subjective perception of stress within this group (b = .004, t(11) = .01, p = .99). These findings reveal a potential mechanism of neuroadaptation of prefrontal DA transmission to early life stress and suggest its role in resilience and vulnerability to psychosis. PMID:27007554
Parenting and Preschool Self-Regulation as Predictors of Social Emotional Competence in 1st Grade

PubMed Central

Russell, Beth S.; Lee, Jungeun Olivia; Spieker, Susan; Oxford, Monica L.

2016-01-01

The current longitudinal study used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) to examine a model of development that emphasizes early caregiving environments as predictors of social emotional competence (including classroom competence). This path analysis model included features of parenting, emotion regulation, preschool language skills, and attention to predict child outcomes in 1st grade. Early caregiving environments were directly predictive of peer relationship satisfaction, oppositional behavior, social skills, and classroom competence over and above significant mediated effects through preschool self regulation (language, inattention, and anger/frustration). These results suggest that the characteristics of supportive and stimulating caregiving shift in valence over time, such that qualities of the infant-child relationship that are significant in predicting early childhood outcomes are not the same as the caregiving qualities that move to the foreground in predicting primary school outcomes. Implications for school-readiness programming are discussed, including interventions in the early caregiving system to encourage sensitive and supportive parent child interactions to bolster school readiness via the development of social-emotional competence. PMID:27616805
Gender and Early Learning Environments. Research on Women and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irby, Beverly, Ed.; Brown, Genevieve H., Ed.

2011-01-01

The Research on Women and Education SIG of the American Educational Research Association presents the third book in its series, Gender and Early Learning Environments. Finding after the publication of Gender and Schooling in the Early Years, the second book in the series, that there was and is a paucity of published literature on early childhood…
Prevalence and influences of preschoolers' sedentary behaviors in early learning centers: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Tucker, Patricia; Vanderloo, Leigh M; Burke, Shauna M; Irwin, Jennifer D; Johnson, Andrew M

2015-09-18

Recent research has highlighted the need for increased evidence regarding the sedentary activity levels of preschoolers. Given the large proportion of time this population spends in various early learning facilities, the exploration of sedentary behaviors within this particular environment should be a priority. The purpose of the study was two-fold: (1) to compare sedentary time of preschoolers in three different early learning environments (i.e., full-day kindergarten [FDK], center-, and home-based childcare); and (2) to assess which characteristics (i.e., staff behaviors, sedentary environment, fixed play environment, portable play environment, sedentary opportunities) of these early learning environments influence preschoolers' sedentary time. Data collection occurred between September 2011 and June 2012. Preschoolers' sedentary time was measured using Actical(™) accelerometers at a 15 s epoch. The Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) tool was used to assess the sedentary environment of participating early learning classrooms, and those subscales (n = 5) that were evidence-informed as potentially influencing sedentary time in early learning centers were explored in the current study. A linear mixed model ANCOVA was carried out to determine the differences in sedentary time based on type of early learning environment while direct entry regression analyses were performed to describe the relationships between sedentary time and the five sedentary-specific EPAO subscale. Preschoolers (n = 218) from 28 early learning programs (i.e., 8 FDK, 9 centre-, and 8 home-based childcare facilities) participated. Accelerometry data revealed that preschoolers attending centre-based childcare engaged in the highest rate of sedentary time (41.62 mins/hr, SD = 3.78) compared to preschoolers in home-based childcare (40.72 mins/hr, SD = 6.34) and FDK (39.68 mins/hr, SD = 3.43). The models for FDK, center-based childcare, and home-based childcare, comprised each of the five EPAO subscales accounted for 10.5%, 5.9%, and 40.78% of the variability in sedentary time, respectively. Only the models for FDK and home-based childcare were found to be statistically significant (p < .05). This is the first exploration of differences in sedentary time among preschoolers in different early learning arrangements. Findings highlight the substantial portion of the day preschoolers spend in sedentary pursuits, and subsequently, the ongoing need to reduce preschoolers' sedentary time in early learning programs, particularly among those attending centre-based childcare facilities.
Blood transcriptomics: applications in toxicology

PubMed Central

Joseph, Pius; Umbright, Christina; Sellamuthu, Rajendran

2015-01-01

The number of new chemicals that are being synthesized each year has been steadily increasing. While chemicals are of immense benefit to mankind, many of them have a significant negative impact, primarily owing to their inherent chemistry and toxicity, on the environment as well as human health. In addition to chemical exposures, human exposures to numerous non-chemical toxic agents take place in the environment and workplace. Given that human exposure to toxic agents is often unavoidable and many of these agents are found to have detrimental human health effects, it is important to develop strategies to prevent the adverse health effects associated with toxic exposures. Early detection of adverse health effects as well as a clear understanding of the mechanisms, especially at the molecular level, underlying these effects are key elements in preventing the adverse health effects associated with human exposure to toxic agents. Recent developments in genomics, especially transcriptomics, have prompted investigations into this important area of toxicology. Previous studies conducted in our laboratory and elsewhere have demonstrated the potential application of blood gene expression profiling as a sensitive, mechanistically relevant and practical surrogate approach for the early detection of adverse health effects associated with exposure to toxic agents. The advantages of blood gene expression profiling as a surrogate approach to detect early target organ toxicity and the molecular mechanisms underlying the toxicity are illustrated and discussed using recent studies on hepatotoxicity and pulmonary toxicity. Furthermore, the important challenges this emerging field in toxicology faces are presented in this review article. PMID:23456664
Child-evoked maternal negativity from 9 to 27 months: evidence of gene-environment correlation and its moderation by marital distress

PubMed Central

Fearon, R.M. Pasco; Reiss, David; Leve, Leslie D.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Scaramella, Laura V.; Ganiban, Jody M.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.

2014-01-01

Past research has documented pervasive genetic influences on emotional and behavioral disturbance across the lifespan and on liability to adult psychiatric disorder. Increasingly, interest is turning to mechanisms of gene-environment interplay in attempting to understand the earliest manifestations of genetic risk. We report findings from a prospective adoption study, which aimed to test the role of evocative gene-environment correlation in early development. 561 infants adopted at birth were studied between 9 and 27 months with their adoptive parents and birth mothers. Birth mother psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms scales were used as indicators of genetic influence, and multiple self-report measures were used to index adoptive mother parental negativity. We hypothesized that birth parent psychopathology would be associated with greater adoptive parent negativity, and that such evocative effects would be amplified under conditions of high family adversity. The findings suggested that genetic factors linked to birth mother externalizing psychopathology may evoke negative reactions in adoptive mothers in the first year of life, but primarily when the adoptive family environment was characterized by marital problems. The observed maternal negativity mediated the effects of genetic risk on child adjustment at 27 months. The results underline the importance of genetically-influenced evocative processes in early development. PMID:25216383
Child-evoked maternal negativity from 9 to 27 months: Evidence of gene-environment correlation and its moderation by marital distress.

PubMed

Fearon, R M Pasco; Reiss, David; Leve, Leslie D; Shaw, Daniel S; Scaramella, Laura V; Ganiban, Jody M; Neiderhiser, Jenae M

2015-11-01

Past research has documented pervasive genetic influences on emotional and behavioral disturbance across the life span and on liability to adult psychiatric disorder. Increasingly, interest is turning to mechanisms of gene-environment interplay in attempting to understand the earliest manifestations of genetic risk. We report findings from a prospective adoption study, which aimed to test the role of evocative gene-environment correlation in early development. Included in the study were 561 infants adopted at birth and studied between 9 and 27 months, along with their adoptive parents and birth mothers. Birth mother psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms scales were used as indicators of genetic influence, and multiple self-report measures were used to index adoptive mother parental negativity. We hypothesized that birth mother psychopathology would be associated with greater adoptive parent negativity and that such evocative effects would be amplified under conditions of high adoptive family adversity. The findings suggested that genetic factors associated with birth mother externalizing psychopathology may evoke negative reactions in adoptive mothers in the first year of life, but only when the adoptive family environment is characterized by marital problems. Maternal negativity mediated the effects of genetic risk on child adjustment at 27 months. The results underscore the importance of genetically influenced evocative processes in early development.

A longitudinal twin study of physical aggression during early childhood: evidence for a developmentally dynamic genome.

PubMed

Lacourse, E; Boivin, M; Brendgen, M; Petitclerc, A; Girard, A; Vitaro, F; Paquin, S; Ouellet-Morin, I; Dionne, G; Tremblay, R E

2014-09-01

Physical aggression (PA) tends to have its onset in infancy and to increase rapidly in frequency. Very little is known about the genetic and environmental etiology of PA development during early childhood. We investigated the temporal pattern of genetic and environmental etiology of PA during this crucial developmental period. Participants were 667 twin pairs, including 254 monozygotic and 413 dizygotic pairs, from the ongoing longitudinal Quebec Newborn Twin Study. Maternal reports of PA were obtained from three waves of data at 20, 32 and 50 months. These reports were analysed using a biometric Cholesky decomposition and linear latent growth curve model. The best-fitting Cholesky model revealed developmentally dynamic effects, mostly genetic attenuation and innovation. The contribution of genetic factors at 20 months substantially decreased over time, while new genetic effects appeared later on. The linear latent growth curve model revealed a significant moderate increase in PA from 20 to 50 months. Two separate sets of uncorrelated genetic factors accounted for the variation in initial level and growth rate. Non-shared and shared environments had no effect on the stability, initial status and growth rate in PA. Genetic factors underlie PA frequency and stability during early childhood; they are also responsible for initial status and growth rate in PA. The contribution of shared environment is modest, and perhaps limited, as it appears only at 50 months. Future research should investigate the complex nature of these dynamic genetic factors through genetic-environment correlation (r GE) and interaction (G×E) analyses.
Pre-birth origins of allergy and asthma.

PubMed

Gatford, K L; Wooldridge, A L; Kind, K L; Bischof, R; Clifton, V L

2017-09-01

Allergy is a chronic disease that can develop as early as infancy, suggesting that early life factors are important in its aetiology. Variable associations between size at birth, a crude marker of the fetal environment, and allergy have been reported in humans and require comprehensive review. Associations between birth weight and allergy are however confounded in humans, and we and others have therefore begun exploring the effects of early life events on allergy in experimental models. In particular, we are using ovine models to investigate whether and how a restricted environment before birth protects against allergy, whether methyl donor availability contributes to allergic protection in IUGR, and why maternal asthma during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of allergic disease in children. We found that experimental intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in sheep reduced cutaneous responses to antigens in progeny, despite normal or elevated IgE responses. Furthermore, maternal methyl donor supplementation in late pregnancy partially reversed effects of experimental IUGR, consistent with the proposal that epigenetic pathways underlie some but not all effects of IUGR on allergic susceptibility. Ovine experimental allergic asthma with exacerbations reduces relative fetal size in late gestation, with some changes in immune populations in fetal thymus suggestive of increased activation. Maternal allergic asthma in mice also predisposes progeny to allergy development. In conclusion, these findings in experimental models provide direct evidence that a perturbed environment before birth alters immune system development and postnatal function, and provide opportunities to investigate underlying mechanisms and develop and evaluate interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Concurrent Design used in the Design of Space Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oxnevad, Knut I.

1998-01-01

At the Project Design Center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a concurrent design environment is under development for supporting development and analyses of space instruments in the early, conceptual design phases. This environment is being utilized by a Team I, a multidisciplinary group of experts. Team I is providing study and proposal support. To provide the required support, the Team I concurrent design environment features effectively interconnected high-end optics, CAD, and thermal design and analysis tools. Innovative approaches for linking tools, and for transferring files between applications have been implemented. These approaches together with effective sharing of geometry between the optics, CAD, and thermal tools are already showing significant timesavings.
Minimal second language exposure, SES, and early word comprehension: New evidence from a direct assessment*

PubMed Central

Deanda, Stephanie; Arias-Trejo, Natalia; Poulin-Dubois, Diane; Zesiger, Pascal; Friend, Margaret

2015-01-01

Although the extant literature provides robust evidence of the influence of language exposure and socioeconomic status (SES) on language acquisition, it is unknown how sensitive the early receptive vocabulary system is to these factors. The current study investigates effects of minimal second language exposure and SES on the comprehension vocabulary of 16-month-old children in the language in which they receive the greatest exposure. Study 1 revealed minimal second language exposure and SES exert significant and independent effects on a direct measure of vocabulary comprehension in English-dominant and English monolingual children (N = 72). In Study 2, we replicated the effect of minimal second language exposure in Spanish-dominant and Spanish monolingual children (N = 86), however no effect of SES on vocabulary was obtained. Our results emphasize the sensitivity of the language system to minimal changes in the environment in early development. PMID:26957947
Modern Microbial Ecosystems are a Key to Understanding Our Biosphere's Early Evolution and its Contributions To The Atmosphere and Rock Record

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DesMarais, David J.; DeVincenzi, Donald L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The survival of our early biosphere depended upon efficient coordination anion- diverse microbial populations. Microbial mats exhibit a 3.46-billion-year fossil record, thus they are the oldest known ecosystems. Photosynthetic microbial mats were key because, today, sunlight powers more than 99 percent of global primary productivity. Thus photosynthetic ecosystems have affected the atmosphere profoundly and have created the most pervasive, easily-detected fossils. Photosynthetic biospheres elsewhere will be most detectible via telescopes or spacecraft. As a part of the Astrobiology Institute, our Ames Microbial Ecosystems group examines the roles played by ecological processes in the early evolution of our biosphere, as recorded in geologic fossils and in the macromolecules of living cells: (1) We are defining the microbial mat microenvironment, which was an important milieu for early evolution. (2) We are comparing mats in contrasting environments to discern strategies of adaptation and diversification, traits that were key for long-term survival. (3) We have selected sites that mimic key environmental attributes of early Earth and thereby focus upon evolutionary adaptations to long-term changes in the global environment. (4) Our studies of gas exchange contribute to better estimates of biogenic gases in Earth's early atmosphere. This group therefore directly addresses the question: How have the Earth and its biosphere influenced each other over time Our studies strengthen the systematics for interpreting the microbial fossil record and thereby enhance astrobiological studies of martian samples. Our models of biogenic gas emissions will enhance models of atmospheres that might be detected on inhabited extrasolar planets. This work therefore also addresses the question: How can other biospheres be recogniZed" Our choice of field sites helps us explore Earth's evolving early environment. For example, modern mats that occupy thermal springs and certain freshwater environments experience conditions such as low O2 and sulfate and high inorganic carbon and sulfide levels that resemble those of ancient marine environments. Later in history, both biologically-induced carbonate precipitation and the trapping and binding of suspended grains of carbonate became a dominant mechanism for carbonate deposition. Modern marine carbonate platforms and alkaline offer good examples of microbiologically-induced calcification. Both marine platforms and solar salterns illustrate microbially-driven trapping and binding. We are also exploring the effects of water composition upon the exchange of biogenic gases with the atmosphere.
The Effects of Computer Use on Creative Thinking among Kindergarten Children in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shawareb, Aseel

2011-01-01

The objective of the current study was to examine the effect of early computer experience, using quasi-experimental design, on creative thinking among Jordanian kindergarten children. It intended to answer two main research questions. First, does adding a computer to a kindergarten environment enhance children's creative thinking? Second, does…
Within-population variability influences early seedling establishment in four Mediterranean oaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

González-Rodríguez, Victoria; Barrio, Isabel C.; Villar, Rafael

2012-05-01

Regeneration of Mediterranean forests is severely limited. Multiple abiotic factors are known to constrain the establishment of woody seedlings at its first phases, such as summer drought or excessive incident radiation, but less attention has been paid to the role of intra-specific variation in seedling performance. In this study we investigate the relative influence of environment (light availability, soil moisture and summer irrigation) and intrinsic factors (seed mass and maternal origin) as determinants of within-population variability in the early establishment of four coexisting Mediterranean oaks (Quercus ilex, Quercus suber, Quercus faginea and Quercus pyrenaica), from emergence and early growth to second-year survival in a field experiment. Seed size was a poor predictor of seed and seedling success. Instead, mother identity showed a stronger effect on seedling performance. Time and percentage of emergence, establishment success and morphological traits varied among seedlings from different maternal trees but main drivers for each variable were different for each species. In addition to a direct effect, in many cases mother-related intrinsic traits and seed mass influenced the effects of environmental conditions on seedling performance. The role of intrinsic factors was masked under ameliorated conditions (i.e. summer irrigation), indicating the relevant role of within-population variability to cope with highly heterogeneous and unpredictable Mediterranean environments.
Effects of tributyltin on early life-stage, reproduction, and gonadal sex differentiation in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).

PubMed

Horie, Yoshifumi; Yamagishi, Takahiro; Shintaku, Yoko; Iguchi, Taisen; Tatarazako, Norihisa

2018-07-01

Tributyltin, an organotin compound, was used worldwide as an antifouling agent in aquatic environments and there has been much concern about the toxicological and ecotoxicological properties of organotin compounds. Even though it has been prohibited worldwide, tributyltin is still detected at low concentrations in aquatic environments. Here we investigated the effects of tributyltin on the early life-stage, reproduction, and gonadal sex differentiation in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). In adults, exposure to tributyltin at 3.82 μg/L suppressed fecundity and fertility and increased mortality. At 10.48 μg/L all medaka died by the sixth day of exposure. Exposure to tributyltin during early life-stages induced no significant differences in mortality or embryonic development, but growth was suppressed in groups exposed to 0.13 and 0.68 μg/L. Furthermore, there was no abnormal gonadal development in Japanese medaka exposed to tributyltin. These results provide evidence of the negative effects of tributyltin on reproduction in a teleost fish. Tributyltin did not affect gonadal sex differentiation in Japanese medaka, but fecundity and fertility were suppressed, although it is not clear whether this suppression resulted from the endocrine-disrupting action of tributyltin or its toxicity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Role of Epigenomics in Aquatic Toxicology

EPA Science Inventory

Over the past decade, the field of molecular biology has rapidly incorporated epigenetic studies to evaluate organism–environment interactions that can result in chronic effects. Such responses arise from early life stage stress, the utilization of genetic information over ...
Precursor model and preschool science learning about shadows formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delserieys, Alice; Jégou, Corinne; Boilevin, Jean-Marie; Ravanis, Konstantinos

2018-04-01

This work is based on the idea that young children benefit from early introduction of scientific concepts. Few researches describe didactical strategies focusing on physics understanding for young children and analyse their effectiveness in standard classroom environments.
How Does the Neighborhood "Come through the Door?" Concentrated Disadvantage, Residential Instability, and the Home Environment for Preschoolers.

PubMed

May, Emily M; Azar, Sandra T; Matthews, Stephen A

2018-03-01

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with heightened risk for poor school readiness and health outcomes in early childhood, and the home environment is thought to be a primary mechanism by which neighborhood context impacts preschoolers. This study examined the effects of neighborhood concentrated disadvantage and neighborhood residential instability on the home physical environment and home learning environment for preschoolers in economically disadvantaged families (N = 187). Using structural equation modeling, mothers' perceived neighborhood disorder and depressive symptoms were examined as mechanisms by which neighborhood context "comes through the door." Mothers' neighborhood social embeddedness was also explored as a protective factor. Results showed that concentrated disadvantage was negatively associated with the quality of the home physical environment, and residential instability was negatively associated with the quality of the home learning environment. Concentrated disadvantage had an indirect effect on the home learning environment through mothers' perceived neighborhood disorder and depressive symptoms. The effects of concentrated disadvantage on the home environment were buffered by mothers' neighborhood social embeddedness. Study findings advance understanding of socioeconomic- and place-based disparities in developmental outcomes and identify potential targets for interventions aimed at lessening effects of neighborhood disadvantage on families with young children. © Society for Community Research and Action 2018.
Detection of early effects of a single herbicide (diuron) and a mix of herbicides and pharmaceuticals (diuron, isoproturon, ibuprofen) on immunological parameters of Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) spat.

PubMed

Luna-Acosta, A; Renault, T; Thomas-Guyon, H; Faury, N; Saulnier, D; Budzinski, H; Le Menach, K; Pardon, P; Fruitier-Arnaudin, I; Bustamante, P

2012-06-01

In the context of massive summer mortality events of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, the aim of this study was to investigate the early effects on genes, enzymes and haemocyte parameters implicated in immune defence mechanisms in C. gigas oysters exposed to a potentially hostile environment, i.e. to an herbicide alone or within a mixture. Following 2 h of exposure to the herbicide diuron at 1 μg L(-1), the repression of different genes implicated in immune defence mechanisms in the haemocytes and the inhibition of enzyme activities, such as laccase-type phenoloxidase (PO) in the plasma, were observed. The inhibition of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the plasma was also observed after 6 and 24 h of exposure. In the mixture with the herbicides diuron and isoproturon, and the pharmaceutical ibuprofen, catecholase-type PO activity in the plasma and the percentage of phagocytosis in the haemocytes were reduced after 6 h of exposure. Our results showed that early effects on molecular, biochemical and cellular parameters can be detected in the presence of diuron alone or within a mixture, giving an insight of its potential effect in situations that can be found in natural environments, i.e. relatively high concentrations for short periods of time. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Early-Life Effects on Adult Physical Activity: Concepts, Relevance, and Experimental Approaches.

PubMed

Garland, Theodore; Cadney, Marcell D; Waterland, Robert A

Locomotion is a defining characteristic of animal life and plays a crucial role in most behaviors. Locomotion involves physical activity, which can have far-reaching effects on physiology and neurobiology, both acutely and chronically. In human populations and in laboratory rodents, higher levels of physical activity are generally associated with positive health outcomes, although excessive exercise can have adverse consequences. Whether and how such relationships occur in wild animals is unknown. Behavioral variation among individuals arises from genetic and environmental factors and their interactions as well as from developmental programming (persistent effects of early-life environment). Although tremendous progress has been made in identifying genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in behavior, early-life effects are not well understood. Early-life effects can in some cases persist across multiple generations following a single exposure and, in principle, may constrain or facilitate the rate of evolution at multiple levels of biological organization. Understanding the mechanisms of such transgenerational effects (e.g., exposure to stress hormones in utero, inherited epigenetic alterations) may prove crucial to explaining unexpected and/or sex-specific responses to selection as well as limits to adaptation. One area receiving increased attention is early-life effects on adult physical activity. Correlational data from epidemiological studies suggest that early-life nutritional stress can (adversely) affect adult human activity levels and associated physiological traits (e.g., body composition, metabolic health). The few existing studies of laboratory rodents demonstrate that both maternal and early-life exercise can affect adult levels of physical activity and related phenotypes. Going forward, rodents offer many opportunities for experimental studies of (multigenerational) early-life effects, including studies that use maternal exposures and cross-fostering designs.
Effects of Simulated Weightlessness on Mammalian Development. Part 2: Meiotic Maturation of Mouse Oocytes During Clinostat Rotation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolgemuth, D. J.; Grills, G. S.

1985-01-01

In order to understand the role of gravity in basic cellular processes that are important during development, the effects of a simulated microgravity environment on mammalian gametes and early embryos cultured in vitro are examined. A microgravity environment is simulated by use of a clinostat, which essentially reorients cells relative to the gravity vector. Initial studies have focused on assessing the effects of clinostat rotation on the meiotic progression of mouse oocytes. Modifications centered on providing the unique in vitro culture of the clinostat requirements of mammalian oocytes and embryos: 37 C temperature, constant humidity, and a 5% CO2 in air environment. The oocytes are observed under the dissecting microscope for polar body formation and gross morphological appearance. They are then processed for cytogenetic analysis.
40 CFR 63.74 - Demonstration of early reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Demonstration of early reduction. 63.74 Section 63.74 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... Governing Compliance Extensions for Early Reductions of Hazardous Air Pollutants § 63.74 Demonstration of...
40 CFR 63.74 - Demonstration of early reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Demonstration of early reduction. 63.74 Section 63.74 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... Governing Compliance Extensions for Early Reductions of Hazardous Air Pollutants § 63.74 Demonstration of...
40 CFR 63.74 - Demonstration of early reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 10 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Demonstration of early reduction. 63.74 Section 63.74 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS... Governing Compliance Extensions for Early Reductions of Hazardous Air Pollutants § 63.74 Demonstration of...
The Literacy Environment of Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms: Predictors of Print Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dynia, Jaclyn M.

2012-01-01

The present study aimed to examine the quality of the classroom literacy environment in early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms, as well as the relations between the classroom literacy environment and children's gains in print knowledge. To address these aims, the present study described the classroom literacy environments of 28…
Early Adverse Environments and Genetic Influences on Age at First Sex: Evidence for Gene × Environment Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carlson, Marie D.; Mendle, Jane; Harden, K. Paige

2014-01-01

Youth who experience adverse environments in early life initiate sexual activity at a younger age, on average, than those from more advantaged circumstances. Evolutionary theorists have posited that ecological stress precipitates earlier reproductive and sexual onset, but it is unclear how stressful environments interact with genetic influences on…
Age trends of genetic parameters, early selection and family by site interactions for growth traits in Larix kaempferi open-pollinated families.

PubMed

Diao, Shu; Hou, Yimei; Xie, Yunhui; Sun, Xiaomei

2016-07-07

Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) as a successful exotic species has become one of the most important economic and ecological conifers in China. In order to broaden the genetic resource of Larix kaempferi, an effort was made in 1996 to introduce 128 families from seven seed orchards in Japan, with which to establish two progeny trials in climatically different environments. The experiment was aimed to determine the strategy of early selection, particularly important for long-rotated Japanese larch, and the optimal breeding program for specific environments. Growth trajectories revealed different growth performances of stem height (HGT) and diameter at breast height (DBH) in two different environments, Hubei and Liaoning. In both sites, there were marked variabilities in HGT, DBH and volume (VOL) among families at each year. The trends of individual and family heritability and age-age correlations were found to follow a certain dynamic pattern. Based on these trends, the optimum selection age was determined at four years for HGT and five years for DBH in Hubei and Liaoning. Genetic gains for VOL were 34.4 and 6.04 % in Hubei and Liaoning respectively when selection ratio was 10 % at age 16. Type-B correlations were less than 0.67 and rank correlations of breeding value were less than 0.4 for HGT, DBH and VOL between the two sites, revealing that there exist pronounced family-by-site interactions for the growth traits of Larix kaempferi. Early selection for Larix kaempferi is an effective strategy to overcome its long rotation age. In early selection, dual growth trait selection is more effective than single one. Regionalization deployment should be considered in Larix. kaempferi breeding program based on different environmental factors.

Distinguishing differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress: recommendations for evaluating interaction effects.

PubMed

Roisman, Glenn I; Newman, Daniel A; Fraley, R Chris; Haltigan, John D; Groh, Ashley M; Haydon, Katherine C

2012-05-01

This report describes the state of the art in distinguishing data generated by differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models. We discuss several limitations of existing practices for probing interaction effects and offer solutions that are designed to better differentiate differential susceptibility from diathesis-stress models and quantify their corresponding implications. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of these methods by revisiting published evidence suggesting that temperamental difficulty serves as a marker of enhanced susceptibility to early maternal caregiving across a range of outcome domains in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. We find that, with the exception of mother reports of psychopathology, there is consistent evidence in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development that the predictive significance of early sensitivity is moderated by difficult temperament over time. However, differential susceptibility effects emerged primarily for teacher reports of academic skills, social competence, and symptomatology. In contrast, effects more consistent with the diathesis-stress model were obtained for mother reports of social skills and objective tests of academic skills. We conclude by discussing the value of the application of this work to the next wave of Gene × Environment studies focused on early caregiving experiences.
A twin study of early-childhood asthma in Puerto Ricans.

PubMed

Bunyavanich, Supinda; Silberg, Judy L; Lasky-Su, Jessica; Gillespie, Nathan A; Lange, Nancy E; Canino, Glorisa; Celedón, Juan C

2013-01-01

The relative contributions of genetics and environment to asthma in Hispanics or to asthma in children younger than 3 years are not well understood. To examine the relative contributions of genetics and environment to early-childhood asthma by performing a longitudinal twin study of asthma in Puerto Rican children ≤ 3 years old. 678 twin infants from the Puerto Rico Neo-Natal Twin Registry were assessed for asthma at age 1 year, with follow-up data obtained for 624 twins at age 3 years. Zygosity was determined by DNA microsatellite profiling. Structural equation modeling was performed for three phenotypes at ages 1 and 3 years: physician-diagnosed asthma, asthma medication use in the past year, and ≥ 1 hospitalization for asthma in the past year. Models were additionally adjusted for early-life environmental tobacco smoke exposure, sex, and age. The prevalences of physician-diagnosed asthma, asthma medication use, and hospitalization for asthma were 11.6%, 10.8%, 4.9% at age 1 year, and 34.1%, 40.1%, and 8.5% at 3 years, respectively. Shared environmental effects contributed to the majority of variance in susceptibility to physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use in the first year of life (84%-86%), while genetic effects drove variance in all phenotypes (45%-65%) at age 3 years. Early-life environmental tobacco smoke, sex, and age contributed to variance in susceptibility. Our longitudinal study in Puerto Rican twins demonstrates a changing contribution of shared environmental effects to liability for physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use between ages 1 and 3 years. Early-life environmental tobacco smoke reduction could markedly reduce asthma morbidity in young Puerto Rican children.
[Practice and experience in early clinical education of dental students in preventive dentistry].

PubMed

Tao, Dan-ying; Shu, Chen-bin; Pan, Ying; Feng, Xi-ping

2013-02-01

To help dental students acquaint the medical environment, doctor-patient communication and relationship, early clinic education was arranged in our college of stomatology. The interesting topics were chosen to enhance the learning enthusiasm of the students in the teaching practice of preventive dentistry. Students were encouraged to practice the skill of doctor-patient communication. To obtain the satisfactory teaching effect and aim, it was important to pay attention to the aspects in the groups and clinical practice. Early clinic education in preventive dentistry help the students understand the specialty of preventive dentistry.
Early life programming of fear conditioning and extinction in adult male rats.

PubMed

Stevenson, Carl W; Spicer, Clare H; Mason, Rob; Marsden, Charles A

2009-12-28

The early rearing environment programs corticolimbic function and neuroendocrine stress reactivity in adulthood. Although early environmental programming of innate fear has been previously examined, its impact on fear learning and memory later in life remains poorly understood. Here we examined the role of the early rearing environment in programming fear conditioning and extinction in adult male rats. Pups were subjected to maternal separation (MS; 360 min), brief handling (H; 15 min), or animal facility rearing (AFR) on post-natal days 2-14. As adults, animals were tested in a 3-day fear learning and memory paradigm which assessed the acquisition, expression and extinction of fear conditioning to an auditory cue; the recall of extinction was also assessed. In addition, contextual fear was assessed prior to cued extinction and its recall. We found that the acquisition of fear conditioning to the cue was modestly impaired by MS. However, no early rearing group differences were observed in cue-induced fear expression. In contrast, both the rate of extinction and extinction recall were attenuated by H. Finally, although contextual fear was reduced after extinction to the cue, no differences in context-induced fear were observed between the early rearing groups. These results add to a growing body of evidence supporting an important role for early environmental programming of fear conditioning and extinction. They also indicate that different early rearing conditions can program varying effects on distinct fear learning and memory processes in adulthood.
Adequacy of the Regular Early Education Classroom Environment for Students with Visual Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Cherylee M.; Packer, Tanya L.; Passmore, Anne

2013-01-01

This study describes the classroom environment that students with visual impairment typically experience in regular Australian early education. Adequacy of the classroom environment (teacher training and experience, teacher support, parent involvement, adult involvement, inclusive attitude, individualization of the curriculum, physical…
Early olfactory environment influences social behaviour in adult Octodon degus.

PubMed

Márquez, Natalia; Martínez-Harms, Jaime; Vásquez, Rodrigo A; Mpodozis, Jorge

2015-01-01

We evaluated the extent to which manipulation of early olfactory environment can influence social behaviours in the South American Hystricognath rodent Octodon degus. The early olfactory environment of newborn degus was manipulated by scenting all litter members with eucalyptol during the first month of life. The social behaviour of sexually mature animals (5-7 months old) towards conspecifics was then assessed using a y-maze to compare the response of control (naïve) and treated animals to two different olfactory configurations (experiment 1): (i) a non-familiarized conspecific impregnated with eucalyptol (eucalyptol arm) presented against (ii) a non-familiarized unscented conspecific (control arm). In addition, in dyadic encounters, we assessed the behaviour of control and eucalyptol treated animals towards a non-familiarized conspecific scented with eucalyptol (experiment 2). We found that control subjects explored and spent significantly less time in the eucalyptol arm, indicating neophobic behaviours towards the artificially scented conspecific. Treated subjects explored and spent similar time in both arms of the maze, showing the same interest for both olfactory stimuli presented. During dyadic encounters in experiment 2, an interaction effect between early experience and sex was observed. Control males escaped and avoided their scented partner more frequently than eucalyptol treated male subjects and than females. Both groups did not differ in the exploration of their scented partners, suggesting that avoidance within agonistic context does not relate to neophobic behaviours. Our results suggest that the exposure to eucalyptol during early ontogeny decreases evasive behaviours within an agonistic context as a result of olfactory learning. Altogether, these results indicate that olfactory cues learned in early ontogeny can influence olfactory-guided behaviours in adult degus.
Early Triassic environmental dynamics and microbial development during the Smithian-Spathian transition (Lower Weber Canyon, Utah, USA)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grosjean, Anne-Sabine; Vennin, Emmanuelle; Olivier, Nicolas; Caravaca, Gwénaël; Thomazo, Christophe; Fara, Emmanuel; Escarguel, Gilles; Bylund, Kevin G.; Jenks, James F.; Stephen, Daniel A.; Brayard, Arnaud

2018-01-01

The Early Triassic biotic recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction is well documented in the Smithian-Spathian Thaynes Group of the western USA basin. This sedimentary succession is commonly interpreted as recording harsh conditions of various shallow marine environments where microbial structures flourished. However, recent studies questioned the relevance of the classical view of long-lasting deleterious post-crisis conditions and suggested a rapid diversification of some marine ecosystems during the Early Triassic. Using field and microfacies analyses, we investigate a well-preserved Early Triassic marine sedimentary succession in Lower Weber Canyon (Utah, USA). The identification of microbial structures and their depositional settings provide insights on factors controlling their morphologies and distribution. The Lower Weber Canyon sediments record the vertical evolution of depositional environments from a middle Smithian microbial and dolosiliciclastic peritidal system to a late Smithian-early Spathian bioclastic, muddy mid ramp. The microbial deposits are interpreted as Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) that developed either (1) in a subtidal mid ramp where microbial wrinkles and chips are associated with megaripples characterizing hydrodynamic conditions of lower flow regime, or (2) in protected areas of inter- to subtidal inner ramp where they formed laminae and domal structures. Integrated with other published data, our investigations highlight that the distribution of these microbial structures was influenced by the combined effects of bathymetry, hydrodynamic conditions, lithology of the substrat physico-chemical characteristics of the depositional environment and by the regional relative sea-level fluctuations. Thus, we suggest that local environmental factors and basin dynamics primarily controlled the modalities of microbial development and preservation during the Early Triassic in the western USA basin.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO SOLVE OLD PROBLEMS

EPA Science Inventory

The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) was established in early December of 1970 to protect human health and the environment. The USEPA realized from the beginning that to effectively carry out is's mission it needed to encourage the development of new technologies. Almos...
Effect of bone mesenchymal stem cells transplantation on the micro-environment of early osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

PubMed

Song, Huanjin; Tao, Li; Wang, Fang; Wang, Weizhuo; Wei, Yongchang; Shen, Wenjun; Zhou, Fuling

2015-01-01

Autologous implantation of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) has achieved promising clinical efficacy for the treatment of early-stage osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). However, the underlying mechanisms are not completely elucidated. Here, we investigated the effect of BMSCs on the early ONFH in vitro and in vivo. In co-cultured system, primary BMSCs enhanced the activity and inhibited the apoptosis of primary OB. The concentrations of VEGF and BMP-2 in the co-cultured medium were significantly higher than those without co-culture. Importantly, BMSCs implantation increased OB, capillaries and VEGF and BMP-2 expressions of the necrotic areas of femoral head in the ONFH rabbits. In conclusion, our results indicated that BMSCs treated the early ONFH possibly through increasing OB and capillaries, as well as VEGF and BMP-2 expression in the femoral head. These results provided possible mechanisms for the treatment of early-stage ONFH with BMSCs transplantation.
Early prediction of student goals and affect in narrative-centered learning environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sunyoung

Recent years have seen a growing recognition of the role of goal and affect recognition in intelligent tutoring systems. Goal recognition is the task of inferring users' goals from a sequence of observations of their actions. Because of the uncertainty inherent in every facet of human computer interaction, goal recognition is challenging, particularly in contexts in which users can perform many actions in any order, as is the case with intelligent tutoring systems. Affect recognition is the task of identifying the emotional state of a user from a variety of physical cues, which are produced in response to affective changes in the individual. Accurately recognizing student goals and affect states could contribute to more effective and motivating interactions in intelligent tutoring systems. By exploiting knowledge of student goals and affect states, intelligent tutoring systems can dynamically modify their behavior to better support individual students. To create effective interactions in intelligent tutoring systems, goal and affect recognition models should satisfy two key requirements. First, because incorrectly predicted goals and affect states could significantly diminish the effectiveness of interactive systems, goal and affect recognition models should provide accurate predictions of user goals and affect states. When observations of users' activities become available, recognizers should make accurate early" predictions. Second, goal and affect recognition models should be highly efficient so they can operate in real time. To address key issues, we present an inductive approach to recognizing student goals and affect states in intelligent tutoring systems by learning goals and affect recognition models. Our work focuses on goal and affect recognition in an important new class of intelligent tutoring systems, narrative-centered learning environments. We report the results of empirical studies of induced recognition models from observations of students' interactions in narrative-centered learning environments. Experimental results suggest that induced models can make accurate early predictions of student goals and affect states, and they are sufficiently efficient to meet the real-time performance requirements of interactive learning environments.
Early Intervention for Families and Children Experiencing Homelessness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurley, Jennifer J.; Looby, Winnie; Goodrum, Ashley R.; Campbell, Elizabeth M.; Bonti, Gregg K.; Raymon, Becca A.; Condon, Rebecca; Schwaeber, Sami E.; Mauceri, Melina E.; Bourne, Erin M.; Callahan, Elizabeth D.; Hardy, Danielle L.; Mathews, Pamela

2018-01-01

Early intervention (EI) services are provided for families and children at risk for or with developmental delays. Early intervention includes services that are provided in the natural environment as mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004). The natural environment is where children and families would naturally spend…
Food, growth and time: Elsie Widdowson's and Robert McCance's research into prenatal and early postnatal growth.

PubMed

Buklijas, Tatjana

2014-09-01

Cambridge scientists Robert McCance and Elsie Widdowson are best known for their work on the British food tables and wartime food rations, but it is their research on prenatal and early postnatal growth that is today seen as a foundation of the fields studying the impact of environment upon prenatal development and, consequently, adult disease. In this essay I situate McCance's and Widdowson's 1940s human and 1950s experimental studies in the context of pre-war concerns with fetal growth and development, especially within biochemistry, physiology and agriculture; and the Second World War and post-war focus on the effects of undernutrition during pregnancy upon the fetus. I relate Widdowson's and McCance's research on the long-term effects of early undernutrition to the concern with recovery from early trauma so pertinent in post-war Europe and with sensitive (critical) periods, a concept of high importance across different fields. Finally I discuss how, following a hiatus in which fetal physiology engaged with different questions and stressed fetal autonomy, interest in the impact of environment upon prenatal growth and development revived towards the end of the twentieth century. The new field of "developmental origins of health and disease", I suggest, has provided a context in which Widdowson's and McCance's work has regained importance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Protective Effects of Enriched Environment Against Transient Cerebral Ischemia-Induced Impairment of Passive Avoidance Memory and Long-Term Potentiation in Rats

PubMed Central

Ahmadalipour, Ali; Sadeghzadeh, Jafar; Samaei, Seyed Afshin; Rashidy-Pour, Ali

2017-01-01

Introduction: Enriched Environment (EE), a complex novel environment, has been demonstrated to improve synaptic plasticity in both injured and intact animals. The present study investigated the capacity of an early environmental intervention to normalize the impairment of passive avoidance memory and Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) induced by transient bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (2-vessel occlusion, 2VO) in rats. Methods: After weaning, young Wistar rats (22 days old) were housed in EE or Standard Environment (SE) for 40 days. Transient (30-min) incomplete forebrain ischemia was induced 4 days before the passive avoidance memory test and LTP induction. Results: The transient forebrain ischemia led to impairment of passive avoidance memory and LTP induction in the Perforant Path-Dentate Gyrus (PP-DG) synapses. Interestingly, housing and growing in EE prior to 2VO was found to significantly reverse 2VO-induced cognitive and LTP impairments. Conclusion: Our results suggest that early housing and growing in EE exhibits therapeutic potential to normalize cognitive and LTP abnormalities induced by 2VO ischemic model in rats.
Effects of the social environment during adolescence on the development of social behaviour, hormones and morphology in male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata).

PubMed

Bölting, Stefanie; von Engelhardt, Nikolaus

2017-01-01

Individual differences in behaviour are widespread in the animal kingdom and often influenced by the size or composition of the social group during early development. In many vertebrates the effects of social interactions early in life on adult behaviour are mediated by changes in maturation and physiology. Specifically, increases in androgens and glucocorticoids in response to social stimulation seem to play a prominent role in shaping behaviour during development. In addition to the prenatal and early postnatal phase, adolescence has more recently been identified as an important period during which adult behaviour and physiology are shaped by the social environment, which so far has been studied mostly in mammals. We raised zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ) under three environmental conditions differing in social complexity during adolescence - juvenile pairs, juvenile groups, and mixed-age groups - and studied males' behavioural, endocrine, and morphological maturation, and later their adult behaviour. As expected, group-housed males exhibited higher frequencies of social interactions. Group housing also enhanced song during adolescence, plumage development, and the frequency and intensity of adult courtship and aggression. Some traits, however, were affected more in juvenile groups and others in mixed-age groups. Furthermore, a testosterone peak during late adolescence was suppressed in groups with adults. In contrast, corticosterone concentrations did not differ between rearing environments. Unexpectedly, adult courtship in a test situation was lowest in pair-reared males and aggression depended upon the treatment of the opponent with highest rates shown by group-reared males towards pair-reared males. This contrasts with previous findings, possibly due to differences in photoperiod and the acoustic environment. Our results support the idea that effects of the adolescent social environment on adult behaviour in vertebrates are mediated by changes in social interactions affecting behavioural and morphological maturation. We found no evidence that long-lasting differences in behaviour reflect testosterone or corticosterone levels during adolescence, although differences between juvenile and mixed-age groups suggest that testosterone and song behaviour during late adolescence may be associated.
Two new confirmed massive relic galaxies: red nuggets in the present-day Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferré-Mateu, Anna; Trujillo, Ignacio; Martín-Navarro, Ignacio; Vazdekis, Alexandre; Mezcua, Mar; Balcells, Marc; Domínguez, Lilian

2017-05-01

We confirm two new local massive relic galaxies, I.e. untouched survivors of the early Universe massive population: Mrk 1216 and PGC 032873. Both show early and peaked formation events within very short time-scales (<1 Gyr) and thus old mean mass-weighted ages (˜13 Gyr). Their star formation histories remain virtually unchanged out to several effective radii, even when considering the steeper initial-mass-function values inferred out to ˜3 effective radii. Their morphologies, kinematics and density profiles are like those found in the z > 2 massive population, setting them apart from the typical z ˜ 0 massive early-type galaxies. We find that there seems to exist a degree of relic that is related to how far into the path, to become one of these typical z ˜ 0 massive galaxies, the compact relic has moved. This path is partly dictated by the environment the galaxy lives in. For galaxies in rich environments, such as the previously reported relic galaxy NGC 1277, the most extreme properties (e.g. sizes, short formation time-scales, larger supermassive black holes) are expected, while lower density environments will have galaxies with delayed and/or extended star formations, slightly larger sizes and not that extreme black hole masses. The confirmation of three relic galaxies up to a distance of 106 Mpc, implies a lower limit in the number density of these red nuggets in the local Universe of 6 × 10-7 Mpc3, which is within the theoretical expectations.
Cross-border marriage and disparities in early childhood development in a population-based birth cohort study: the mediation of the home environment.

PubMed

Wu, J C-L; Bradley, R H; Chiang, T-L

2012-07-01

Taiwan has experienced a large influx of cross-border marriage migrants in recent years. The majority have been women in their childbearing ages and have come from countries with lower average standards of living than Taiwan. This trend has changed the ethnic composition of children who live in Taiwan, and it has generated considerable social concern over the future health status of Taiwan's citizens. This study aimed to examine: (1) whether there are disparities in development between children reared in families characterized by cross-border marriages and children reared in families with two Taiwanese-born parents; and (2) whether the quality of home environment explains the group differences in early childhood development. Data came from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study. A total of 19,499 participants who completed 6-month, 18-month and 3-year surveys were included for analysis. Cross-border marriage status was defined by mother's original nationality and categorized into three broad groups: Taiwanese-born, Chinese cross-border and South-East Asian (SEA) cross-border. Early childhood development was measured at age 3 years, and covered the domains of gross motor, fine motor, language and socio-emotional competence. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine the mediation effects of the home environment. Children of Chinese and SEA cross-border groups scored lower in fine motor, language and socio-emotional competence than those of their Taiwanese-born counterpart at age 3 years. Chinese-Taiwanese group differences in all three developmental domains became insignificant after the addition of home environment, while SEA-Taiwanese group differences in fine motor and language development remained, yet were noticeably reduced. The mediation of home environment was further confirmed using the Sobel test. Home environment plays a central role in reducing the disparities in developmental outcomes among children of different marriage groups. Interventions should be directed towards enhancing the quality of early home environment for children reared in families of cross-border marriages. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Iniciativa sobre Efectividad: Un entorno para el aprendizaje (Initiative about Effectiveness: An Environment for Learning).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreno Garcia, Teresa, Ed.

2000-01-01

This Spanish- and Portuguese-language bulletin presents articles focusing on the Effectiveness Initiative (EI), a project of the Bernard van Leer Foundation for making a qualitative analysis of those elements of the programs of Early Childhood Development (ECD) that benefit the participants and their communities and cultures. The first article…
Promoting Safe Schools and Academic Success: Moving Your School from Punitive Discipline to Effective Discipline

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olley, Rivka I.; Cohn, Andrea; Cowan, Katherine C.

2010-01-01

Effective discipline is essential to creating safe, supportive learning environments for all students, which is critical to academic achievement. Since the passage of zero tolerance policies in the early 1990s, many school districts have relied on punitive discipline focused on harsh strategies such as using suspension and expulsion as primary…
Innovative look at dairy heifer rearing: Effect of prenatal and post-natal environment on later performance.

PubMed

Van Eetvelde, M; Opsomer, G

2017-08-01

As heifer rearing is a costly investment, dairy farmers have been stimulated to maximize early growth of their calves, mainly by enhanced liquid feeding. However, the long-term effects of this "accelerated growth" are largely unknown. Studies recently performed at Ghent University indicate that in dairy cattle, certain maternal factors (such as young age and high milk yield) and environmental factors (such as high ambient temperatures) create a suboptimal environment for the developing foetus, altering the phenotype of the newborn calf. According to the "thrifty phenotype hypothesis," these metabolic alterations prepare the newborn for similar ("matching") conditions after birth, enhancing its survival during periods of limited feeding. Yet, when an abundance of nutrients is available in post-natal life (e.g., during periods of enhanced feeding), the "mismatch" between pre- and post-natal environment results in an early catch-up growth, with potential negative consequences. The aim of the article was to discuss this mismatch between pre- and post-natal environment in dairy calves. Previous studies, especially in human medicine, have shown catch-up growth to be associated with obesity, fertility problems, metabolic diseases and a reduced lifespan. Hence, we hypothesize that, by applying programs of accelerated growth, our current management system accentuates the mismatch between the pre- and post-natal environment in dairy calves. We can conclude that, although more research is necessary, the current findings point towards a more individual approach when rearing dairy heifers. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.
Genetic variation for farrowing rate in pigs in response to change in photoperiod and ambient temperature.

PubMed

Sevillano, C A; Mulder, H A; Rashidi, H; Mathur, P K; Knol, E F

2016-08-01

Seasonal infertility is often observed as anestrus and a lower conception rate resulting in a reduced farrowing rate (FR) during late summer and early autumn. This is often regarded as an effect of heat stress; however, we observed a reduction in the FR of sows even after correcting for ambient temperature in our data. Therefore, we added change in photoperiod in the analysis of FR considering its effect on sow fertility. Change in photoperiod was modeled using the cosine of the day of first insemination within a year. On an average, the FR decreased by 2% during early autumn with decreasing daily photoperiod compared with early summer with almost no change in daily photoperiod. It declined 0.2% per degree Celsius of ambient temperature above 19.2°C. This result is a step forward in disentangling the 2 environmental components responsible for seasonal infertility. Our next aim was to estimate the magnitude of genetic variation in FR in response to change in photoperiod and ambient temperature to explore opportunities for selecting pigs to have a constant FR throughout the year. We used reaction norm models to estimate additive genetic variation in response to change in photoperiod and ambient temperature. The results revealed a larger genetic variation at stressful environments when daily photoperiod decreased and ambient temperatures increased above 19.2°C compared with neutral environments. Genetic correlations between stressful environments and nonstressful environments ranged from 0.90 (±0.03) to 0.46 (±0.13) depending on the severity of the stress, indicating changes in expression of FR depending on the environment. The genetic correlation between responses of pigs to changes in photoperiod and to those in ambient temperature were positive, indicating that pigs tolerant to decreasing daily photoperiod are also tolerant to high ambient temperatures. Therefore, selection for tolerance to decreasing daily photoperiod should also increase tolerance to high ambient temperatures or vice versa.

Early-developmental stress, repeatability, and canalization in a suite of physiological and behavioral traits in female zebra finches.

PubMed

Careau, Vincent; Buttemer, William A; Buchanan, Katherine L

2014-10-01

Adaptive developmental plasticity allows individuals experiencing poor environmental conditions in early life to adjust their life-history strategy in order to prioritize short-term fitness benefits and maximize reproductive output in challenging environments. Much research has been conducted to test whether such adoption of a "faster" life-history strategy is accompanied by concordant changes in behavior and physiology, with mixed results. As research in this field has focused on comparison of mean-level responses of treatment groups, few studies include repeated measures of response variables and the effect that developmental stress may have on repeatability per se. We investigated how early-developmental stress affects the mean expression of (and repeatability in) a variety of behavioral and physiological traits in female zebra finches. We predicted that: (1) individuals subjected to nutritional restriction in the nestling phase would have higher feeding and activity rates, with associated increases in hematocrit and basal metabolic rates (BMRs), (2) nutritional restriction in early life would alter adults' stress-induced corticosterone level, and (3) developmental stress would, respectively, influence the amount of among-individual and within-individual variation in behavioral and physiological traits, hence affecting the repeatability of these traits. In comparison to control females, stressed females did not differ in activity rate or stress-induced corticosterone level, but they did have higher levels of feeding, hematocrit, and BMR. Among-individual variance and repeatability were generally higher in stressed females than in controls. Finally, we found that developmental dietary restriction significantly reduced the amount of within-individual variance both in activity rate in the novel environment and in stress-induced corticosterone level. Our results not only confirm previous findings on the effect of early-developmental stress on BMR, but also extend its effect to feeding rate and hematocrit, suggesting that developmental plasticity in these traits is ontogenetically linked. Early-developmental stress may disable particular genetic canalizing processes, which would release cryptic genetic variation and explain why repeatability and among-individual variance were generally higher in the stressed groups than in controls. For activity rate in the novel environment and with stress-induced corticosterone level, however, early-developmental stress significantly reduced within-individual variance, which may be a consequence of increased canalization of these traits at the micro-environmental level. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Effects of single cortisol administrations on human affect reviewed: Coping with stress through adaptive regulation of automatic cognitive processing.

PubMed

Putman, Peter; Roelofs, Karin

2011-05-01

The human stress hormone cortisol may facilitate effective coping after psychological stress. In apparent agreement, administration of cortisol has been demonstrated to reduce fear in response to stressors. For anxious patients with phobias or posttraumatic stress disorder this has been ascribed to hypothetical inhibition of retrieval of traumatic memories. However, such stress-protective effects may also work via adaptive regulation of early cognitive processing of threatening information from the environment. This paper selectively reviews the available literature on effects of single cortisol administrations on affect and early cognitive processing of affectively significant information. The concluded working hypothesis is that immediate effects of high concentration of cortisol may facilitate stress-coping via inhibition of automatic processing of goal-irrelevant threatening information and through increased automatic approach-avoidance responses in early emotional processing. Limitations in the existing literature and suggestions for future directions are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience: towards understanding adaptation to early-life adversity outcome

PubMed Central

Daskalakis, Nikolaos P.; Bagot, Rosemary C.; Parker, Karen J.; Vinkers, Christiaan H.; de Kloet, E. R.

2013-01-01

Stressful experiences during early-life can modulate the genetic programming of specific brain circuits underlying emotional and cognitive aspects of behavioral adaptation to stressful experiences later in life. Although this programming effect exerted by experience-related factors is an important determinant of mental health, its outcome depends on cognitive inputs and hence the valence an individual assigns to a given environmental context. From this perspective we will highlight, with studies in rodents, non-human primates and humans, the three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience to stress-related mental disorders, which is based on gene-environment interactions during critical phases of perinatal and juvenile brain development. The three-hit (i.e., hit-1: genetic predisposition, hit-2: early-life environment, and hit-3: later-life environment) concept accommodates the cumulative stress hypothesis stating that in a given context vulnerability is enhanced when failure to cope with adversity accumulates. Alternatively, the concept also points to the individual’s predictive adaptive capacity, which underlies the stress inoculation and match/mismatch hypotheses. The latter hypotheses propose that the experience of relatively mild early-life adversity prepares for the future and promotes resilience to similar challenges in later-life; when a mismatch occurs between early and later-life experience, coping is compromised and vulnerability is enhanced. The three-hit concept is fundamental for understanding how individuals can either be prepared for coping with life to come and remain resilient or are unable to do so and succumb to a stress-related mental disorder, under seemingly identical circumstances. PMID:23838101
The three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience: toward understanding adaptation to early-life adversity outcome.

PubMed

Daskalakis, Nikolaos P; Bagot, Rosemary C; Parker, Karen J; Vinkers, Christiaan H; de Kloet, E R

2013-09-01

Stressful experiences during early-life can modulate the genetic programming of specific brain circuits underlying emotional and cognitive aspects of behavioral adaptation to stressful experiences later in life. Although this programming effect exerted by experience-related factors is an important determinant of mental health, its outcome depends on cognitive inputs and hence the valence an individual assigns to a given environmental context. From this perspective we will highlight, with studies in rodents, non-human primates and humans, the three-hit concept of vulnerability and resilience to stress-related mental disorders, which is based on gene-environment interactions during critical phases of perinatal and juvenile brain development. The three-hit (i.e., hit-1: genetic predisposition, hit-2: early-life environment, and hit-3: later-life environment) concept accommodates the cumulative stress hypothesis stating that in a given context vulnerability is enhanced when failure to cope with adversity accumulates. Alternatively, the concept also points to the individual's predictive adaptive capacity, which underlies the stress inoculation and match/mismatch hypotheses. The latter hypotheses propose that the experience of relatively mild early-life adversity prepares for the future and promotes resilience to similar challenges in later-life; when a mismatch occurs between early and later-life experience, coping is compromised and vulnerability is enhanced. The three-hit concept is fundamental for understanding how individuals can either be prepared for coping with life to come and remain resilient or are unable to do so and succumb to a stress-related mental disorder, under seemingly identical circumstances. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Early Family Environments of Obese and Non-Obese College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hailey, B. Jo; Sison, Gustave F. P., Jr.

Although case studies and anecdotal information have suggested that differences exist between the early family environments of obese and non-obese individuals, no experimental research exists. Undergraduates completed the Family Environment Scale (FES) and a questionnaire concerning past and present weight information. Subjects were classified as…
Brief Report: Evaluation of an Intelligent Learning Environment for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Zhi; Warren, Zachary; Weitlauf, Amy; Fu, Qiang; Zhao, Huan; Swanson, Amy; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2016-01-01

Researchers are increasingly attempting to develop and apply innovative technological platforms for early detection and intervention of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This pilot study designed and evaluated a novel technologically-mediated intelligent learning environment with relevance to early social orienting skills. The environment was…
Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine use from early adolescence to middle adulthood.

PubMed

Kendler, Kenneth S; Schmitt, Eric; Aggen, Steven H; Prescott, Carol A

2008-06-01

While both environmental and genetic factors are important in the etiology of psychoactive substance use (PSU), we know little of how these influences differ through development. To clarify the changing role of genes and environment in PSU from early adolescence through middle adulthood. Retrospective assessment by life history calendar, with univariate and bivariate structural modeling. General community. A total of 1796 members of male-male pairs from the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. Levels of use of alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine recorded for every year of the respondent's life. For nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis, familial environmental factors were critical in influencing use in early adolescence and gradually declined in importance through young adulthood. Genetic factors, by contrast, had little or no influence on PSU in early adolescence and gradually increased in their effect with increasing age. The sources of individual differences in caffeine use changed much more modestly over time. Substantial correlations were seen among levels of cannabis, nicotine, and alcohol use and specifically between caffeine and nicotine. In adolescence, those correlations were strongly influenced by shared effects from the familial environment. However, as individuals aged, more and more of the correlation in PSU resulted from genetic factors that influenced use of both substances. These results support an etiologic model for individual differences in PSU in which initiation and early patterns of use are strongly influenced by social and familial environmental factors while later levels of use are strongly influenced by genetic factors. The substantial correlations seen in levels of PSU across substances are largely the result of social environmental factors in adolescence, with genetic factors becoming progressively more important through early and middle adulthood.
Genetic and Environmental Influences on Alcohol, Caffeine, Cannabis, and Nicotine Use From Early Adolescence to Middle Adulthood

PubMed Central

Kendler, Kenneth S.; Schmitt, Eric; Aggen, Steven H.; Prescott, Carol A.

2009-01-01

Context While both environmental and genetic factors are important in the etiology of psychoactive substance use (PSU), we know little of how these influences differ through development. Objective To clarify the changing role of genes and environment in PSU from early adolescence through middle adulthood. Design Retrospective assessment by life history calendar, with univariate and bivariate structural modeling. Setting General community. Participants A total of 1796 members of male-male pairs from the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. Main Outcome Measures Levels of use of alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine recorded for every year of the respondent's life. Results For nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis, familial environmental factors were critical in influencing use in early adolescence and gradually declined in importance through young adulthood. Genetic factors, by contrast, had little or no influence on PSU in early adolescence and gradually increased in their effect with increasing age. The sources of individual differences in caffeine use changed much more modestly over time. Substantial correlations were seen among levels of cannabis, nicotine, and alcohol use and specifically between caffeine and nicotine. In adolescence, those correlations were strongly influenced by shared effects from the familial environment. However, as individuals aged, more and more of the correlation in PSU resulted from genetic factors that influenced use of both substances. Conclusions These results support an etiologic model for individual differences in PSU in which initiation and early patterns of use are strongly influenced by social and familial environmental factors while later levels of use are strongly influenced by genetic factors. The substantial correlations seen in levels of PSU across substances are largely the result of social environmental factors in adolescence, with genetic factors becoming progressively more important through early and middle adulthood. PMID:18519825
Psychosocial work environment and retirement age: a prospective study of 1876 senior employees.

PubMed

Thorsen, Sannie Vester; Jensen, Per H; Bjørner, Jakob Bue

2016-08-01

Retention of senior employees is a challenge for most developed countries. We aimed to identify psychosocial work environment factors of importance for the retention of older employees by evaluating the association between the psychosocial work environment and voluntary early retirement in a longitudinal study. Data about work environment, health, and background factors came from the DANES 2008 questionnaire survey. We followed members of the Danish early retirement scheme for up to 4 years in national registers-focusing on the age range, 60-64 years, where early retirement was possible. We used Cox proportional hazard regression to analyze the rate of early retirement. The study included 16 psychosocial work environment factors. The following 10 psychosocial factors were significant predictors of early retirement in covariate adjusted analyses: Low job satisfaction, low influence in job, low possibilities for development, low role clarity, perceived age discrimination, low recognition from management, low workplace justice, poor trust in management, poor leadership quality, and poor predictability. No significant association with early retirement was found for work pace, quantitative demands, emotional demands, role conflicts, social community between colleagues, and trust between colleagues. Older employees with high job satisfaction, influence, possibilities for development, positive management relations, and jobs with no age discrimination remained longer at the labor market. However, we found no evidence that low demands or good relations between colleagues could influence older employees' decision on early retirement.
Origin and early evolution of photosynthetic eukaryotes in freshwater environments: reinterpreting proterozoic paleobiology and biogeochemical processes in light of trait evolution.

PubMed

Blank, Carrine E

2013-12-01

Phylogenetic analyses were performed on concatenated data sets of 31 genes and 11,789 unambiguously alignable characters from 37 cyanobacterial and 35 chloroplast genomes. The plastid lineage emerged somewhat early in the cyanobacterial tree, at a time when Cyanobacteria were likely unicellular and restricted to freshwater ecosystems. Using relaxed molecular clocks and 22 age constraints spanning cyanobacterial and eukaryote nodes, the common ancestor to the photosynthetic eukaryotes was predicted to have also inhabited freshwater environments around the time that oxygen appeared in the atmosphere (2.0-2.3 Ga). Early diversifications within each of the three major plastid clades were also inferred to have occurred in freshwater environments, through the late Paleoproterozoic and into the middle Mesoproterozoic. The colonization of marine environments by photosynthetic eukaryotes may not have occurred until after the middle Mesoproterozoic (1.2-1.5 Ga). The evolutionary hypotheses proposed here predict that early photosynthetic eukaryotes may have never experienced the widespread anoxia or euxinia suggested to have characterized marine environments in the Paleoproterozoic to early Mesoproterozoic. It also proposes that earliest acritarchs (1.5-1.7 Ga) may have been produced by freshwater taxa. This study highlights how the early evolution of habitat preference in photosynthetic eukaryotes, along with Cyanobacteria, could have contributed to changing biogeochemical conditions on the early Earth. © 2013 Phycological Society of America.
Influence of family environment on long-term psychosocial functioning of adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia.

PubMed

Sil, Soumitri; Lynch-Jordan, Anne; Ting, Tracy V; Peugh, James; Noll, Jennie; Kashikar-Zuck, Susmita

2013-06-01

Little is known about the impact of family environment on the long-term adjustment of patients with juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM). Our objective was to evaluate whether family environment in early adolescence predicted later physical functioning and depressive symptoms of adolescents with JFM as they transitioned to early adulthood in the context of a controlled long-term followup study. Participants consisted of 39 youth (mean age 18.7 years) with JFM and 38 healthy matched controls who completed web-based surveys about their health status (Short Form 36 health survey) and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory II) ~4 years after a home-based, in-person assessment of child and family functioning. During the initial assessment, parents of the participants (94% mothers) completed the Family Environment Scale and adolescents (mean age 14.8 years) completed self-report questionnaires about pain (visual analog scale) and depressive symptoms (Children's Depression Inventory). The results indicated that family environment during early adolescence significantly predicted greater depressive symptoms in early adulthood for both the JFM group and the healthy controls. In particular, a controlling family environment (use of rules to control the family and allowing little independence) during early adolescence was the driving factor in predicting poorer long-term emotional functioning for patients with JFM. Family environment did not significantly predict longer-term physical impairment for either group. Adolescents with JFM from controlling family environments are at an increased risk for poorer emotional functioning in early adulthood. Behavioral and family interventions should foster independent coping among adolescents with JFM and greater parenting flexibility to enhance successful long-term coping. Copyright © 2013 by the American College of Rheumatology.
From the Cradle to the Grave: The Effect of Adverse Caregiving Environments on Attachment and Relationships Throughout the Lifespan

PubMed Central

Doyle, Colleen; Cicchetti, Dante

2017-01-01

This paper reviews research examining the effects of adverse early caregiving on relationships throughout the lifespan. Central attachment constructs are summarized and integrated into a review of research on the long-term effects of institutional rearing and child maltreatment. Findings are interpreted within the organizational perspective on development, which conceptualizes attachment as a stage-salient task of infancy that influences the reorganization of adaptive/maladaptive functioning around subsequent stage-salient tasks. Children who experience adverse early caregiving are more likely to exhibit aberrant attachment behaviors, deficits in social-emotional competencies, and persisting difficulties in social functioning and relationship outcomes. Disorganized attachment behavior stemming from adverse early caregiving has been a major focus of this work. Intervention efforts that target mental representations related to attachment relationships can facilitate improved social functioning. Clinical implications of this work are discussed. PMID:28924334
A neurogenetics approach to defining differential susceptibility to institutional care

PubMed Central

Brett, Zoe H.; Sheridan, Margaret; Humphreys, Kate; Smyke, Anna; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Fox, Nathan; Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Drury, Stacy

2014-01-01

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing, interacted with a biologically informed genoset comprising BDNF (rs6265), COMT (rs4680), and SIRT1 (rs3758391) to predict distinct outcomes of neurodevelopment at age 8 (N = 193, 97 males and 96 females). Ethnicity was categorized as Romanian (71%), Roma (21%), unknown (7%), or other (1%). We identified a significant interaction between early caregiving environment (i.e., institutionalized versus never institutionalized children) and the a priori defined genoset for full-scale IQ, two spatial working memory tasks, and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume. Model validation was performed using a bootstrap resampling procedure. Although we hypothesized that the effect of this genoset would operate in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility, our results demonstrate a complex interaction where vantage susceptibility, diathesis stress, and differential susceptibility are implicated. PMID:25663728
A neurogenetics approach to defining differential susceptibility to institutional care.

PubMed

Brett, Zoe H; Sheridan, Margaret; Humphreys, Kate; Smyke, Anna; Gleason, Mary Margaret; Fox, Nathan; Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles; Drury, Stacy

2015-03-01

An individual's neurodevelopmental and cognitive sequelae to negative early experiences may, in part, be explained by genetic susceptibility. We examined whether extreme differences in the early caregiving environment, defined as exposure to severe psychosocial deprivation associated with institutional care compared to normative rearing, interacted with a biologically informed genoset comprising BDNF (rs6265), COMT (rs4680), and SIRT1 (rs3758391) to predict distinct outcomes of neurodevelopment at age 8 ( N = 193, 97 males and 96 females). Ethnicity was categorized as Romanian (71%), Roma (21%), unknown (7%), or other (1%). We identified a significant interaction between early caregiving environment (i.e., institutionalized versus never institutionalized children) and the a priori defined genoset for full-scale IQ, two spatial working memory tasks, and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume. Model validation was performed using a bootstrap resampling procedure. Although we hypothesized that the effect of this genoset would operate in a manner consistent with differential susceptibility, our results demonstrate a complex interaction where vantage susceptibility, diathesis stress, and differential susceptibility are implicated.
Developmental influences on fertility decisions by women: an evolutionary perspective

PubMed Central

Tickner, M.; McAllister, L. S.; Sheppard, P.

2016-01-01

Developmental environments are crucial for shaping our life course. Elements of the early social and biological environments have been consistently associated with reproduction in humans. To date, a strong focus has been on the relationship between early stress, earlier menarche and first child birth in women. These associations, found predominately in high-income countries, have been usefully interpreted within life-history theory frameworks. Fertility, on the other hand—a missing link between an individual's early environment, reproductive strategy and fitness—has received little attention. Here, we synthesize this literature by examining the associations between early adversity, age at menarche and fertility and fecundity in women. We examine the evidence that potential mechanisms such as birth weight, childhood body composition, risky health behaviours and developmental influences on attractiveness link the early environment and fecundity and fertility. The evidence that menarche is associated with fertility and fecundity is good. Currently, owing to the small number of correlational studies and mixed methodologies, the evidence that early adversity predicts fecundity and fertility is not conclusive. This area of research is in its infancy; studies examining early adversity and adult fertility decisions that can also examine likely biological, social and psychological pathways present opportunities for future fertility research. PMID:27022073
Adaptive capacity of the habitat modifying sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii to ocean warming and ocean acidification: performance of early embryos.

PubMed

Foo, Shawna A; Dworjanyn, Symon A; Poore, Alistair G B; Byrne, Maria

2012-01-01

Predicting effects of rapid climate change on populations depends on measuring the effects of climate stressors on performance, and potential for adaptation. Adaptation to stressful climatic conditions requires heritable genetic variance for stress tolerance present in populations. We quantified genetic variation in tolerance of early development of the ecologically important sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii to near-future (2100) ocean conditions projected for the southeast Australian global change hot spot. Multiple dam-sire crosses were used to quantify the interactive effects of warming (+2-4 °C) and acidification (-0.3-0.5 pH units) across twenty-seven family lines. Acidification, but not temperature, decreased the percentage of cleavage stage embryos. In contrast, temperature, but not acidification decreased the percentage of gastrulation. Cleavage success in response to both stressors was strongly affected by sire identity. Sire and dam identity significantly affected gastrulation and both interacted with temperature to determine developmental success. Positive genetic correlations for gastrulation indicated that genotypes that did well at lower pH also did well in higher temperatures. Significant genotype (sire) by environment interactions for both stressors at gastrulation indicated the presence of heritable variation in thermal tolerance and the ability of embryos to respond to changing environments. The significant influence of dam may be due to maternal provisioning (maternal genotype or environment) and/or offspring genotype. It appears that early development in this ecologically important sea urchin is not constrained in adapting to the multiple stressors of ocean warming and acidification. The presence of tolerant genotypes indicates the potential to adapt to concurrent warming and acidification, contributing to the resilience of C. rodgersii in a changing ocean.
Adaptive Capacity of the Habitat Modifying Sea Urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii to Ocean Warming and Ocean Acidification: Performance of Early Embryos

PubMed Central

Foo, Shawna A.; Dworjanyn, Symon A.; Poore, Alistair G. B.; Byrne, Maria

2012-01-01

Background Predicting effects of rapid climate change on populations depends on measuring the effects of climate stressors on performance, and potential for adaptation. Adaptation to stressful climatic conditions requires heritable genetic variance for stress tolerance present in populations. Methodology/Principal Findings We quantified genetic variation in tolerance of early development of the ecologically important sea urchin Centrostephanus rodgersii to near-future (2100) ocean conditions projected for the southeast Australian global change hot spot. Multiple dam-sire crosses were used to quantify the interactive effects of warming (+2–4°C) and acidification (−0.3−0.5 pH units) across twenty-seven family lines. Acidification, but not temperature, decreased the percentage of cleavage stage embryos. In contrast, temperature, but not acidification decreased the percentage of gastrulation. Cleavage success in response to both stressors was strongly affected by sire identity. Sire and dam identity significantly affected gastrulation and both interacted with temperature to determine developmental success. Positive genetic correlations for gastrulation indicated that genotypes that did well at lower pH also did well in higher temperatures. Conclusions/Significance Significant genotype (sire) by environment interactions for both stressors at gastrulation indicated the presence of heritable variation in thermal tolerance and the ability of embryos to respond to changing environments. The significant influence of dam may be due to maternal provisioning (maternal genotype or environment) and/or offspring genotype. It appears that early development in this ecologically important sea urchin is not constrained in adapting to the multiple stressors of ocean warming and acidification. The presence of tolerant genotypes indicates the potential to adapt to concurrent warming and acidification, contributing to the resilience of C. rodgersii in a changing ocean. PMID:22880005
Early subtropical forest growth is driven by community mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment.

PubMed

Kröber, Wenzel; Li, Ying; Härdtle, Werner; Ma, Keping; Schmid, Bernhard; Schmidt, Karsten; Scholten, Thomas; Seidler, Gunnar; von Oheimb, Goddert; Welk, Erik; Wirth, Christian; Bruelheide, Helge

2015-09-01

While functional diversity (FD) has been shown to be positively related to a number of ecosystem functions including biomass production, it may have a much less pronounced effect than that of environmental factors or species-specific properties. Leaf and wood traits can be considered particularly relevant to tree growth, as they reflect a trade-off between resources invested into growth and persistence. Our study focussed on the degree to which early forest growth was driven by FD, the environment (11 variables characterizing abiotic habitat conditions), and community-weighted mean (CWM) values of species traits in the context of a large-scale tree diversity experiment (BEF-China). Growth rates of trees with respect to crown diameter were aggregated across 231 plots (hosting between one and 23 tree species) and related to environmental variables, FD, and CWM, the latter two of which were based on 41 plant functional traits. The effects of each of the three predictor groups were analyzed separately by mixed model optimization and jointly by variance partitioning. Numerous single traits predicted plot-level tree growth, both in the models based on CWMs and FD, but none of the environmental variables was able to predict tree growth. In the best models, environment and FD explained only 4 and 31% of variation in crown growth rates, respectively, while CWM trait values explained 42%. In total, the best models accounted for 51% of crown growth. The marginal role of the selected environmental variables was unexpected, given the high topographic heterogeneity and large size of the experiment, as was the significant impact of FD, demonstrating that positive diversity effects already occur during the early stages in tree plantations.
Early subtropical forest growth is driven by community mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment

PubMed Central

Kröber, Wenzel; Li, Ying; Härdtle, Werner; Ma, Keping; Schmid, Bernhard; Schmidt, Karsten; Scholten, Thomas; Seidler, Gunnar; von Oheimb, Goddert; Welk, Erik; Wirth, Christian; Bruelheide, Helge

2015-01-01

While functional diversity (FD) has been shown to be positively related to a number of ecosystem functions including biomass production, it may have a much less pronounced effect than that of environmental factors or species-specific properties. Leaf and wood traits can be considered particularly relevant to tree growth, as they reflect a trade-off between resources invested into growth and persistence. Our study focussed on the degree to which early forest growth was driven by FD, the environment (11 variables characterizing abiotic habitat conditions), and community-weighted mean (CWM) values of species traits in the context of a large-scale tree diversity experiment (BEF-China). Growth rates of trees with respect to crown diameter were aggregated across 231 plots (hosting between one and 23 tree species) and related to environmental variables, FD, and CWM, the latter two of which were based on 41 plant functional traits. The effects of each of the three predictor groups were analyzed separately by mixed model optimization and jointly by variance partitioning. Numerous single traits predicted plot-level tree growth, both in the models based on CWMs and FD, but none of the environmental variables was able to predict tree growth. In the best models, environment and FD explained only 4 and 31% of variation in crown growth rates, respectively, while CWM trait values explained 42%. In total, the best models accounted for 51% of crown growth. The marginal role of the selected environmental variables was unexpected, given the high topographic heterogeneity and large size of the experiment, as was the significant impact of FD, demonstrating that positive diversity effects already occur during the early stages in tree plantations. PMID:26380685
The wider social environment and changes in self-reported quality of life in the transition from late childhood to early adolescence: a cohort study

PubMed Central

Drukker, Marjan; Kaplan, Charles; Schneiders, Josien; Feron, Frans JM; van Os, Jim

2006-01-01

Background Neighbourhood socioeconomic disadvantage and social capital have been associated with adolescent well-being, but the majority of studies were cross-sectional, and the time window over which the neighbourhood may impact on development is unknown. Therefore, the contribution of the neighbourhood environment to adolescents' quality of life and the course of these effects during the period of transition from childhood to early adolescence was examined. Methods A cohort of adolescents living in Maastricht (The Netherlands), with a mean age of 11.2 years at baseline and of 13.5 years at follow-up was followed. Adolescents who responded both at baseline and at follow-up were included in the analysis (n = 475). Multilevel regression analyses estimated neighbourhood effects while controlling for individual-level effects. Neighbourhood-level socioeconomic and social capital variables, individual-level confounders, and baseline values of the outcome measures were included in the models. Results None of the neighbourhood factors was associated with changes in general health or mental health over the two-year period. However, two-year exposure to greater disparity between individual level socioeconomic status on the one hand and neighbourhood level of socioeconomic status on the other (e.g. high socioeconomic status adolescents living in deprived neighbourhoods and vice versa) negatively impacted on self-esteem and satisfaction. Conclusion The neighbourhood environment per se does not contribute to change in quality of life during the transition to early adolescence. However, adolescents living in families whose socioeconomic status deviates from the mean level of neighbourhood socioeconomic deprivation may be negatively affected. PMID:16707015

Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curtis, Deb; Carter, Margie

While the early childhood field has formed standards to help in recognizing quality programs for children, practitioners seldom use values to guide in selection of materials or to help plan early childhood environments. This book draws on a variety of educational approaches, including Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia, to outline hundreds of…
Critical Interactions Shaping Early Academic Career Development in Two Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmings, Brian; Hill, Doug; Sharp, John G.

2013-01-01

This study was aimed at identifying the critical interactions within work environments that support the development of early career academics as researchers in institutions with lower order research profiles, that is, environments that differ from research-intensive universities. Ten early career academics, five from Australia and five from the…
40 CFR Appendix B to Part 63 - Sources Defined for Early Reduction Provisions

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Sources Defined for Early Reduction Provisions B Appendix B to Part 63 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... (CONTINUED) Pt. 63, App. B Appendix B to Part 63—Sources Defined for Early Reduction Provisions Source...
40 CFR 26.123 - Early termination of research support: Evaluation of applications and proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Early termination of research support: Evaluation of applications and proposals. 26.123 Section 26.123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... Research Conducted or Supported by EPA § 26.123 Early termination of research support: Evaluation of...
Strength-Based Factors for Successful Adaptation to an Early College High School Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abernethy, Catherine

2010-01-01

In an early college high school setting, students are subject to varying academic, social and contextual demands of a higher educational environment. In a strength-based study of 136 diverse early college high school students, this research explored the relationship of internal and external developmental assets to adaptive functioning of…
The science of early adversity: is there a role for large institutions in the care of vulnerable children?

PubMed

Berens, Anne E; Nelson, Charles A

2015-07-25

It has been more than 80 years since researchers in child psychiatry first documented developmental delays among children separated from family environments and placed in orphanages or other institutions. Informed by such findings, global conventions, including the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, assert a child's right to care within a family-like environment that offers individualised support. Nevertheless, an estimated 8 million children are presently growing up in congregate care institutions. Common reasons for institutionalisation include orphaning, abandonment due to poverty, abuse in families of origin, disability, and mental illness. Although the practice remains widespread, a robust body of scientific work suggests that institutionalisation in early childhood can incur developmental damage across diverse domains. Specific deficits have been documented in areas including physical growth, cognitive function, neurodevelopment, and social-psychological health. Effects seem most pronounced when children have least access to individualised caregiving, and when deprivation coincides with early developmental sensitive periods. Offering hope, early interventions that place institutionalised children into families have afforded substantial recovery. The strength of scientific evidence imparts urgency to efforts to achieve deinstitutionalisation in global child protection sectors, and to intervene early for individual children experiencing deprivation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Assessing the effects of ultraviolet radiation on the photosynthetic potential in Archean marine environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avila-Alonso, Dailé; Baetens, Jan M.; Cardenas, Rolando; de Baets, Bernard

2017-07-01

In this work, the photosynthesis model presented by Avila et al. in 2013 is extended and more scenarios inhabited by ancient cyanobacteria are investigated to quantify the effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on their photosynthetic potential in marine environments of the Archean eon. We consider ferrous ions as blockers of UV during the Early Archean, while the absorption spectrum of chlorophyll a is used to quantify the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by photosynthetic organisms. UV could have induced photoinhibition at the water surface, thereby strongly affecting the species with low light use efficiency. A higher photosynthetic potential in early marine environments was shown than in the Late Archean as a consequence of the attenuation of UVC and UVB by iron ions, which probably played an important role in the protection of ancient free-floating bacteria from high-intensity UV radiation. Photosynthetic organisms in Archean coastal and ocean environments were probably abundant in the first 5 and 25 m of the water column, respectively. However, species with a relatively high efficiency in the use of light could have inhabited ocean waters up to a depth of 200 m and show a Deep Chlorophyll Maximum near 60 m depth. We show that the electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, both UV and visible light, could have determined the vertical distribution of Archean marine photosynthetic organisms.
Root Shock Revisited: Perspectives of Early Head Start Mothers on Community and Policy Environments and Their Effects on Child Health, Development, and School Readiness

PubMed Central

McAllister, Carol L.; Thomas, Tammy L.; Green, Beth L.

2009-01-01

Racial differences in school readiness are a form of health disparity. By examining, from the perspective of low-income minority families participating in an Early Head Start study, community and policy environments as they shape and inform lived experiences, we identified several types of social and economic dislocation that undermine the efforts of parents to ready their children for school. The multiple dislocations of community triggered by housing and welfare reform and “urban renewal” are sources of stress for parents and children and affect the health and development of young children. Our findings suggest that racial differences in school readiness result not from race but from poverty and structural racism in American society. PMID:19059871
On the interdependence of galaxy morphology, star formation and environment in massive galaxies in the nearby Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bait, Omkar; Barway, Sudhanshu; Wadadekar, Yogesh

2017-11-01

Using multiwavelength data, from ultraviolet to optical to near-infrared to mid-infrared, for ˜6000 galaxies in the local Universe, we study the dependence of star formation on the morphological T-types for massive galaxies (log M*/M⊙ ≥ 10). We find that, early-type spirals (Sa-Sbc) and S0s predominate in the green valley, which is a transition zone between the star forming and quenched regions. Within the early-type spirals, as we move from Sa to Sbc spirals the fraction of green valley and quenched galaxies decreases, indicating the important role of the bulge in the quenching of galaxies. The fraction of early-type spirals decreases as we enter the green valley from the blue cloud, which coincides with the increase in the fraction of S0s. These points towards the morphological transformation of early-type spiral galaxies into S0s, which can happen due to environmental effects such as ram-pressure stripping, galaxy harassment or tidal interactions. We also find a second population of S0s that are actively star forming and are present in all environments. Since morphological T-type, specific star formation rate (sSFR), and environmental density are all correlated with each other, we compute the partial correlation coefficient for each pair of parameters while keeping the third parameter as a control variable. We find that morphology most strongly correlates with sSFR, independent of the environment, while the other two correlations (morphology-density and sSFR-environment) are weaker. Thus, we conclude that, for massive galaxies in the local Universe, the physical processes that shape their morphology are also the ones that determine their star-forming state.
Stratigraphy of the Younger Dryas Chronozone and paleoenvironmental implications: Central and Southern Great Plains

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holliday, V.T.; Meltzer, D.J.; Mandel, R.

2011-01-01

The Great Plains of the United States was the setting for some of the earliest research in North America into patterns and changes in the character of late Pleistocene environments and their effects on contemporary human populations. Many localities in the region have well-stratified records of terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene human (Paleoindian) activity and past environments. These have proven important in debates over the character of the Younger Dryas Chronozone (YDC; 11,000-10,000 14C BP; 12,900-11,700 cal BP) in the continental interior. This paper reviews the lithostratigraphic record of the YDC on the Central and Southern Great Plains and summarizes paleobiological records (largely isotopic). The goal is to determine if there is any uniformity in the timing, character, direction and/or magnitude of changes in depositional environments or broader geomorphic systems before, during or after the YDC in order to address the question of the character of environments through this time. The stratigraphic records of the late Pleistocene to early Holocene transition, and in particular, the stratigraphic records of the YDC vary through time and space. The data clearly show that a host of geomorphic processes produced the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene stratigraphic records of the Great Plains. Moreover, the YDC is not necessarily manifest as a distinct lithostratigraphic or biostratigraphic entity in these different types of deposits and soils. The various geomorphic systems of the Great Plains did not behave synchronously in response to any common climate driver. These stratigraphic records reflect local environmental conditions and probably a complex response to the reorganization of mid-latitude climates in the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene. ?? 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.
Early Cretaceous Shallow-Water Platform Carbonates of the Bolkar Mountains, Central Taurides - South Turkey: Facies Analysis and Depositional Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solak, Cemile; Taslı, Kemal; Koç, Hayati

2016-10-01

The study area comprises southern non-metamorphic part of the Bolkar Mountains which are situated in southern Turkey, eastern part of the Central Taurides. The studied five outcrops form geologically parts of the tectonostratigraphic units called as allochthonous Aladag Unit and autochthonous Geyikdagi Unit. The aim of this study is to describe microfacies and depositional environments of the Bolkar Mountains Early Cretaceous shallow- water platform carbonates. The Lower Cretaceous is represented by continuous thick- bedded to massive dolomite sequence ranging from 100 to 150 meters thick, which only contains locally laminated limestone intercalations in the Yüğlük section and thick to very thick-bedded uniform limestones ranging from approximately 50 to 120 meters, consist of mainly laminated- fenestral mudstone, peloidal-intraclastic grainstone-packstone, bioclastic packstone- wackestone, benthic foraminiferal-intraclastic grainstone-packstone, ostracod-fenestral wackestone-mudstone, dasycladacean algal packstone-wackestone and ooidal grainstone microfacies. Based on a combination sedimantological data, facies/microfacies and micropaleontological (predominantly dasycladacean algae and diverse benthic foraminifera) analysis, it is concluded that Early Cretaceous platform carbonates of the Bolkar Mountains reflect a tidally affected tidal-flat and restricted lagoon settings. During the Berriasian- Valanginian unfavourable facies for benthic foraminifera and dolomitization were predominate. In the Hauterivian-early Aptian, the effect of dolomitization largely disappeared and inner platform conditions still prevailed showing alternations of peritidal and lagoon facies, going from peritidal plains (representing various sub-environments including supratidal, intertidal area, tidal-intertidal ponds and ooid bars) dominated by ostracod and miliolids, to dasycladacean algae-rich restricted lagoons-subtidal. These environments show a transition in the vertical and lateral directions in all studied stratigraphic sections.
The uses of outcome measures within multidisciplinary early childhood intervention services: a systematic review.

PubMed

Calder, Samuel; Ward, Roslyn; Jones, Megan; Johnston, Jenelle; Claessen, Mary

2017-07-18

Purpose of the article: To review the use of outcome measures, across the domains of activity, participation, and environment, within multidisciplinary early childhood intervention services. A systematic literature search was undertaken that included four electronic databases: Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library and Cochrane Database of Systematic Review. Inclusion criteria were age 0-24 months, having or at risk of a developmental disability, in receipt of multidisciplinary early childhood intervention services, and included outcome measures across all domains of the International Classification of Functioning-Child & Youth (ICF-CY). Only peer-reviewed journal articles were considered. Eligible studies were coded using the Oxford Levels of Evidence. Methodological quality was assessed using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) Scale for randomised controlled trials and the QualSyst for non-randomised control trials. Of the total of 5764 records identified, 10 were considered to meet inclusion criteria. Fourteen outcome measures were identified, addressing the domains of activity, participation, and environment. Of these, eight have been recommended in the early intervention literature. While the methodological quality of the 10 studies varied, these papers make a contribution to the body of research that acknowledges the role of routine and enriched environments. Implications for Rehabilitation Core practice elements of multidisciplinary early childhood intervention services indicate it is necessary to select outcome measures framed within the International Classification of Functioning-Child & Youth to inform clinical decision-making for measuring intervention effectiveness across the domains of activity, participation and environment. Of the identified measures, three (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory, and Goal Attainment Scaling) are well-established and identified in the literature as multidisciplinary outcome measures for children with developmental disability. The selection of an appropriate outcome measure depends on the age of the child, individual goals of the family, and the type of intervention. This requires the combination of measures as no one measure alone will capture all components of the International Classification of Functioning-Child & Youth.
Visits to Cultural Learning Places in the Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mudiappa, Michael; Kluczniok, Katharina

2015-01-01

Studies show the important role of the home learning environment in early childhood for later school success. This article focuses on a particular aspect of the home learning environment: visits to cultural learning places (e.g. museums) as a component of the quality of the home learning environment. Therefore the educational concept of…
An Empirical Investigation of the Dimensionality of the Physical Literacy Environment in Early Childhood Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dynia, Jaclyn M.; Schachter, Rachel E.; Piasta, Shayne B.; Justice, Laura M.; O'Connell, Ann A.; Yeager Pelatti, Christina

2016-01-01

This study investigated the dimensionality of the physical literacy environment of early childhood education classrooms. Data on the classroom physical literacy environment were collected from 245 classrooms using the Classroom Literacy Observation Profile. A combination of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis was used to identify five…
An Empirical Investigation of the Dimensionality of the Physical Literacy Environment in Early Childhood Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dynia, Jaclyn M.; Schachter, Rachel E.; Piasta, Shayne B.; Justice, Laura M.; O'Connell, Ann A.; Yeager Pelatti, Christina

2018-01-01

This study investigated the dimensionality of the physical literacy environment of early childhood education classrooms. Data on the classroom physical literacy environment were collected from 245 classrooms using the Classroom Literacy Observation Profile. A combination of confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis was used to identify five…
28 CFR 61.7 - Legislative proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... Department of Justice which develops or significantly cooperates and supports a bill or legislative proposal to Congress which may have an effect on the environment shall, in the early stages of development of the bill or proposal, undertake an assessment to determine whether the legislation will significantly...
28 CFR 61.7 - Legislative proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... Department of Justice which develops or significantly cooperates and supports a bill or legislative proposal to Congress which may have an effect on the environment shall, in the early stages of development of the bill or proposal, undertake an assessment to determine whether the legislation will significantly...
28 CFR 61.7 - Legislative proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Department of Justice which develops or significantly cooperates and supports a bill or legislative proposal to Congress which may have an effect on the environment shall, in the early stages of development of the bill or proposal, undertake an assessment to determine whether the legislation will significantly...
28 CFR 61.7 - Legislative proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Department of Justice which develops or significantly cooperates and supports a bill or legislative proposal to Congress which may have an effect on the environment shall, in the early stages of development of the bill or proposal, undertake an assessment to determine whether the legislation will significantly...
28 CFR 61.7 - Legislative proposals.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Department of Justice which develops or significantly cooperates and supports a bill or legislative proposal to Congress which may have an effect on the environment shall, in the early stages of development of the bill or proposal, undertake an assessment to determine whether the legislation will significantly...

NIEHS/EPA CEHCs: Berkeley/Stanford Children's Environment Health Center - UC Berkeley

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The goal of this Center is to better understand the effects of exposure in the womb to air pollutants and airborne bacteria on newborn health, immune system health during childhood, and to understand the relationship of these early-life exposures to asthma
Major epigenetic development distinguishing neuronal and non-neuronal cells occurs postnatally in the murine hypothalamus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Prenatal and early postnatal environment can persistently alter one's risk of obesity. Environmental effects on hypothalamic developmental epigenetics constitute a likely mechanism underlying such 'developmental programming' of energy balance regulation. To advance our understanding of these process...
Teaching Strategies for Early Childhood Environments: A Selective Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, K. Eileen; Rowbury, Trudylee G.

The review of teaching strategies examines four areas of potential ecological impact on effective learning in young children--methods for curriculum organization, antecedent instructional events, consequent instructional events, and packages or combinations of instructional events. Four methods of curriculum organization are explained including…
Confidence and psychosis: a neuro-computational account of contingency learning disruption by NMDA blockade

PubMed Central

Vinckier, F; Gaillard, R; Palminteri, S; Rigoux, L; Salvador, A; Fornito, A; Adapa, R; Krebs, M O; Pessiglione, M; Fletcher, P C

2016-01-01

A state of pathological uncertainty about environmental regularities might represent a key step in the pathway to psychotic illness. Early psychosis can be investigated in healthy volunteers under ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist. Here, we explored the effects of ketamine on contingency learning using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover design. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants performed an instrumental learning task, in which cue-outcome contingencies were probabilistic and reversed between blocks. Bayesian model comparison indicated that in such an unstable environment, reinforcement learning parameters are downregulated depending on confidence level, an adaptive mechanism that was specifically disrupted by ketamine administration. Drug effects were underpinned by altered neural activity in a fronto-parietal network, which reflected the confidence-based shift to exploitation of learned contingencies. Our findings suggest that an early characteristic of psychosis lies in a persistent doubt that undermines the stabilization of behavioral policy resulting in a failure to exploit regularities in the environment. PMID:26055423
Confidence and psychosis: a neuro-computational account of contingency learning disruption by NMDA blockade.

PubMed

Vinckier, F; Gaillard, R; Palminteri, S; Rigoux, L; Salvador, A; Fornito, A; Adapa, R; Krebs, M O; Pessiglione, M; Fletcher, P C

2016-07-01

A state of pathological uncertainty about environmental regularities might represent a key step in the pathway to psychotic illness. Early psychosis can be investigated in healthy volunteers under ketamine, an NMDA receptor antagonist. Here, we explored the effects of ketamine on contingency learning using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover design. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants performed an instrumental learning task, in which cue-outcome contingencies were probabilistic and reversed between blocks. Bayesian model comparison indicated that in such an unstable environment, reinforcement learning parameters are downregulated depending on confidence level, an adaptive mechanism that was specifically disrupted by ketamine administration. Drug effects were underpinned by altered neural activity in a fronto-parietal network, which reflected the confidence-based shift to exploitation of learned contingencies. Our findings suggest that an early characteristic of psychosis lies in a persistent doubt that undermines the stabilization of behavioral policy resulting in a failure to exploit regularities in the environment.
The crucial effect of early-stage gelation on the mechanical properties of cement hydrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ioannidou, Katerina; Kanduč, Matej; Li, Lunna; Frenkel, Daan; Dobnikar, Jure; Del Gado, Emanuela

2016-07-01

Gelation and densification of calcium-silicate-hydrate take place during cement hydration. Both processes are crucial for the development of cement strength, and for the long-term evolution of concrete structures. However, the physicochemical environment evolves during cement formation, making it difficult to disentangle what factors are crucial for the mechanical properties. Here we use Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulations to study a coarse-grained model of cement formation, and investigate the equilibrium and arrested states. We can correlate the various structures with the time evolution of the interactions between the nano-hydrates during the preparation of cement. The novel emerging picture is that the changes of the physicochemical environment, which dictate the evolution of the effective interactions, specifically favour the early gel formation and its continuous densification. Our observations help us understand how cement attains its unique strength and may help in the rational design of the properties of cement and related materials.
The crucial effect of early-stage gelation on the mechanical properties of cement hydrates

PubMed Central

Ioannidou, Katerina; Kanduč, Matej; Li, Lunna; Frenkel, Daan; Dobnikar, Jure; Del Gado, Emanuela

2016-01-01

Gelation and densification of calcium–silicate–hydrate take place during cement hydration. Both processes are crucial for the development of cement strength, and for the long-term evolution of concrete structures. However, the physicochemical environment evolves during cement formation, making it difficult to disentangle what factors are crucial for the mechanical properties. Here we use Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics simulations to study a coarse-grained model of cement formation, and investigate the equilibrium and arrested states. We can correlate the various structures with the time evolution of the interactions between the nano-hydrates during the preparation of cement. The novel emerging picture is that the changes of the physicochemical environment, which dictate the evolution of the effective interactions, specifically favour the early gel formation and its continuous densification. Our observations help us understand how cement attains its unique strength and may help in the rational design of the properties of cement and related materials. PMID:27417911
Environmental Maternal Effects Mediate the Resistance of Maritime Pine to Biotic Stress

PubMed Central

Vivas, María; Zas, Rafael; Sampedro, Luis; Solla, Alejandro

2013-01-01

The resistance to abiotic stress is increasingly recognised as being impacted by maternal effects, given that environmental conditions experienced by parent (mother) trees affect stress tolerance in offspring. We hypothesised that abiotic environmental maternal effects may also mediate the resistance of trees to biotic stress. The influence of maternal environment and maternal genotype and the interaction of these two factors on early resistance of Pinus pinaster half-sibs to the Fusarium circinatum pathogen was studied using 10 mother genotypes clonally replicated in two contrasting environments. Necrosis length of infected seedlings was 16% shorter in seedlings grown from favourable maternal environment seeds than in seedlings grown from unfavourable maternal environment seeds. Damage caused by F. circinatum was mediated by maternal environment and maternal genotype, but not by seed mass. Mechanisms unrelated to seed provisioning, perhaps of epigenetic nature, were probably involved in the transgenerational plasticity of P. pinaster, mediating its resistance to biotic stress. Our findings suggest that the transgenerational resistance of pines due to an abiotic stress may interact with the defensive response of pines to a biotic stress. PMID:23922944
Associations Among Parental Education, Home Environment Quality, Effortful Control, and Preacademic Knowledge

PubMed Central

Merz, Emily C.; Landry, Susan H.; Williams, Jeffrey M.; Barnes, Marcia A.; Eisenberg, Nancy; Spinrad, Tracy L.; Valiente, Carlos; Assel, Michael; Taylor, Heather B.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Phillips, Beth M.; Clancy-Menchetti, Jeanine

2014-01-01

This study used a longitudinal design to examine whether effortful control mediated the associations of parental education and home environment quality with preacademic knowledge in toddlers and young preschoolers. The sample consisted of 226 children (2 to 4 years of age at T1) from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Parents provided data on parent education and home environment quality. Children completed effortful control, early literacy, and early math assessments. T2 effortful control partially mediated the associations of T1 parental education and T1 home environment quality with T3 emergent literacy after accounting for child age, gender, race/ethnicity, T1 effortful control, and T2 early literacy. T2 effortful control partially mediated the association between T1 parental education and T3 emergent math after accounting for child age, gender, race/ethnicity, T1 effortful control, and T2 early math. Prior to entry into preschool, parental education and home environment quality may shape effortful control which in turn influences preacademic knowledge. PMID:25110382
[Early alcohol initiation and increased adult alcohol consumption: cause or indicator?].

PubMed

Geels, L M; Vink, J M; van Beek, J H D A; Willemsen, G; Bartels, M; Boomsma, D I

2013-01-01

Early alcohol initiation is strongly associated with increased alcohol consumption and alcohol abuse/dependence in adulthood. The mechanisms that underlie this association are unclear. To examine whether there is a causal link between early alcohol initiation and later alcohol consumption. Survey data were collected from twin pairs (age range 18-80) included in the Netherlands Twin Register (NTR). A discordant twin design was used to examine the origin of the link between early alcohol initiation and adult alcohol consumption. Within monozygotic pairs (82-143 pairs), twins who started drinking early were compared to their brother/sister who started drinking later, on frequency of alcohol use, weekly alcohol consumption, number of alcohol intoxications, excessive drinking, alcohol abuse/-dependence, and hazardous drinking. By drawing comparisons within monozygotic pairs, we were able to control for the effects of genes/shared environment. Additional analyses examined the effects of age, sex, and in-/exclusion of lifelong abstainers. Within monozygotic twin pairs, the twin who had started drinking early did not differ significantly from his/her brother/sister with respect to future alcohol consumption. Results were independent of age, sex, and in-/exclusion of lifelong abstainers. Early alcohol initiation did not have significant causal effects on subsequent alcohol consumption in adulthood and may be an indicator of a predisposition for alcohol consumption. Campaigns aimed at raising the minimum age for alcohol initiation will possibly have only a limited effect on adult alcohol consumption.
Do State Pre-K Programs Improve Children's Pre-Literacy and Math Learning? Evaluation Science Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Forum on Early Childhood Program Evaluation, 2008

2008-01-01

"Evaluation Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study evaluating the effects of an early childhood program or environment. This Brief evaluates the study "An Effectiveness-Based Evaluation of Five State Pre-Kindergarten Programs" (V. C. Wong, T. D. Cook, W. S. Barnett, and K. Jung.) States have high aspirations for…
Learning in Complex Environments: The Effects of Background Speech on Early Word Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMillan, Brianna T. M.; Saffran, Jenny R.

2016-01-01

Although most studies of language learning take place in quiet laboratory settings, everyday language learning occurs under noisy conditions. The current research investigated the effects of background speech on word learning. Both younger (22- to 24-month-olds; n = 40) and older (28- to 30-month-olds; n = 40) toddlers successfully learned novel…
Code Red: Triage or COgnition-Based DEsign Rules Enhancing Decisionmaking TRaining in a Game Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van der Spek, Erik D.; Wouters, Pieter; van Oostendorp, Herre

2011-01-01

Serious games have a great potential for training and educating people in novel and engaging ways. However, little empirical research has been done on the effectiveness of serious games, and although early findings do point to a moderately positive direction, even less is known about why some games succeed in effectively educating while others do…
The Regulatory Environment in Long Day Care: A "Double-Edged Sword" for Early Childhood Professional Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenech, Marianne; Sumsion, Jennifer; Goodfellow, Joy

2006-01-01

While early childhood professionals in NSW are accountable to a substantial collection of regulatory requirements, little research has explored the outcomes of this regulatory environment, both intended and otherwise. This paper presents findings from a NSW study and shows how early childhood professionals working in long day care centres perceive…
Social competitiveness and plasticity of neuroendocrine function in old age: influence of neonatal novelty exposure and maternal care reliability.

PubMed

Akers, Katherine G; Yang, Zhen; DelVecchio, Dominic P; Reeb, Bethany C; Romeo, Russell D; McEwen, Bruce S; Tang, Akaysha C

2008-06-30

Early experience is known to have a profound impact on brain and behavioral function later in life. Relatively few studies, however, have examined whether the effects of early experience remain detectable in the aging animal. Here, we examined the effects of neonatal novelty exposure, an early stimulation procedure, on late senescent rats' ability to win in social competition. During the first 3 weeks of life, half of each litter received daily 3-min exposures to a novel environment while the other half stayed in the home cage. At 24 months of age, pairs of rats competed against each other for exclusive access to chocolate rewards. We found that novelty-exposed rats won more rewards than home-staying rats, indicating that early experience exerts a life-long effect on this aspect of social dominance. Furthermore, novelty-exposed but not home-staying rats exhibited habituation of corticosterone release across repeated days of social competition testing, suggesting that early experience permanently enhances plasticity of the stress response system. Finally, we report a surprising finding that across individual rat families, greater effects of neonatal novelty exposure on stress response plasticity were found among families whose dams provided more reliable, instead of a greater total quantity of, maternal care.
Paternal and maternal factors in preimplantation embryogenesis: interaction with the biochemical environment.

PubMed

Ménézo, Yves J R

2006-05-01

Paternal effect on embryonic development occurs as early as fertilization. Incorrect formation of the spermatozoon due to centrosome defects and abnormal concentrations of any components involved in the activation process lead to failure immediately or in the subsequent cell cycles. Sperm chromosomal abnormalities result in early embryo developmental arrests. Generally poor spermatozoa lead to poor blastocyst formation. Sperm DNA fragmentation may impair even late post-implantation development. The DNA repair capacity of the oocytes is of major importance. Early preimplantation development, i.e. until maternal to zygotic transition, is maternally driven. Maternal mRNAs and proteins are of major importance, as there is an unavoidable turnover of these reserves. Polyadenylation of these mRNAs is precisely controlled, in order to avoid too early or too late transcription and translation of the housekeeping genes. An important set of maternal regulations, such as DNA stability, transcriptional regulation and protection against oxidative stress, are impaired by age. The embryo biochemical endogenous pool is very important and may depend upon the environment, i.e. the culture medium. Paternal, maternal and environmental factors are unavoidable parameters; they become evident when age impairs oocyte quality.
Characterizing mid-ultraviolet to optical light curves of nearby type IIn supernovae

DOE PAGES

de la Rosa, Janie; Roming, Pete; Pritchard, Tyler; ...

2016-03-21

Here, we present early mid-ultraviolet and optical observations of Type IIn supernovae (SNe IIn) observed from 2007 to 2013. Our results focus on the properties of UV light curves: peak absolute magnitudes, temporal decay, and color evolution. During early times, this sample demonstrates that UV light decays faster than optical, and each event transitions from a predominantly UV-bright phase to an optically bright phase. In order to understand early UV behavior, we generate and analyze the sample's blackbody luminosity, temperature, and radius as the SN ejecta expand and cool. Since most of our observations were detected post maximum luminosity, wemore » introduce a method for estimating the date of peak magnitude. When our observations are compared based on filter, we find that even though these SNe IIn vary in peak magnitudes, there are similarities in UV decay rates. We use a simple semi-analytical SN model in order to understand the effects of the explosion environment on our UV observations. Understanding the UV characteristics of nearby SNe IIn during an early phase can provide valuable information about the environment surrounding these explosions, leading us to evaluating the diversity of observational properties in this subclass.« less
Plio-Pleistocene vegetation response on orbitally forced climatic cycles in Southern Europe - implications for early human environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruch, Angela; Bertini, Adele

2013-04-01

The pace and causes of the early human colonization, in one or several migratory waves from Africa in new environments of the Eurasian continent during the Early Pleistocene, are still a matter of debate. However, climate change is considered a major driving factor of hominin evolution and dispersal patterns. In fact directly or indirectly by its severe influence on vegetation, physiography of landscape, and animal distribution, climate modulates the availability of resources. Plant fossils usually are rare or even absent at hominin sites. Thus, direct evidence on local vegetation and environment is generally missing. Independent from such localities, pollen profiles from the Mediterranean realm show the response of regional vegetation on global climate changes and cyclicity, with distinct spatial and temporal differences. Furthermore, plant fossils provide proxies for climate quantification that can be compared to the global signal, and add data to understanding the regional differentiation of Mediterranean environments. In this presentation we will discuss various palaeobotanical data from Southern Europe to assess Early Pleistocene climate and vegetation in time and space as part of the environment during the first expansions of early humans out of Africa.
The effects of child maltreatment on early signs of antisocial behavior: Genetic moderation by Tryptophan Hydroxylase, Serotonin Transporter, and Monoamine Oxidase-A-Genes

PubMed Central

Cicchetti, Dante; Rogosch, Fred A.; Thibodeau, Eric

2013-01-01

Gene-environment interaction effects in predicting antisocial behavior in late childhood were investigated among maltreated and nonmaltreated low-income children (N = 627, M age = 11.27). Variants in three genes, TPH1, 5-HTTLPR, and MAOA uVNTR, were examined. In addition to child maltreatment status, we also considered the impact of maltreatment subtypes, developmental timing of maltreatment, and chronicity. Indicators of antisocial behavior were obtained from self-, peer-, and adult counselor-reports. In a series of ANCOVAs, child maltreatment and its parameters demonstrated strong main effects on early antisocial behavior as assessed by all forms of report. Genetic effects operated primarily in the context of gene-environment interactions, moderating the impact of child maltreatment on outcomes. Across the three genes, among nonmaltreated children no differences in antisocial behavior were found based on genetic variation. In contrast, among maltreated children specific polymorphisms of TPH1, 5-HTTLPR, and MAOA were each related to heightened self-report of antisocial behavior; the interaction of 5-HTTLPR and developmental timing of maltreatment also indicated more severe antisocial outcomes for children with early onset and recurrent maltreatment based on genotype. TPH1 and 5-HTTLPR interacted with maltreatment subtype to predict peer-report of antisocial behavior; genetic variation contributed to larger differences in antisocial behavior among abused children. TPH1 and 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms also moderated the effects of maltreatment subtype on adult report of antisocial behavior; again genetic effects were strongest for children who were abused. Additionally, TPH1 moderated the effect of developmental timing of maltreatment and chronicity on adult report of antisocial behavior. The findings elucidate how genetic variation contributes to identifying which maltreated children are most vulnerable to antisocial development. PMID:22781862
Effects of Gravity, Microgravity or Microgravity Simulation on Early Mammalian Development.

PubMed

Ruden, Douglas M; Bolnick, Alan; Awonuga, Awoniyi; Abdulhasan, Mohammed; Perez, Gloria; Puscheck, Elizabeth E; Rappolee, Daniel A

2018-06-11

Plant and animal life forms evolved mechanisms for sensing and responding to gravity on Earth where homeostatic needs require responses. The lack of gravity, such as in the International Space Station (ISS), causes acute, intra-generational changes in the quality of life. These include maintaining calcium levels in bone, maintaining muscle tone, and disturbances in the vestibular apparatus in the ears. These problems decrease work efficiency and quality of life of humans not only during microgravity exposures but also after return to higher gravity on Earth or destinations such as Mars or the Moon. It has been hypothesized that lack of gravity during mammalian development may cause prenatal, postnatal and transgenerational effects that conflict with the environment, especially if the developing organism and its progeny are returned, or introduced de novo, into the varied gravity environments mentioned above. Although chicken and frog pregastrulation development, and plant root development, have profound effects due to orientation of cues by gravity-sensing mechanisms and responses, mammalian development is not typically characterized as gravity-sensing. Although no effects of microgravity simulation (MGS) on mouse fertilization were observed in two reports, negative effects of MGS on early mammalian development after fertilization and before gastrulation are presented in four reports that vary with the modality of MGS. This review will analyze the positive and negative mammalian early developmental outcomes, and enzymatic and epigenetic mechanisms known to mediate developmental responses to simulated microgravity on Earth and microgravity during spaceflight experiments. We will update experimental techniques that have already been developed or need to be developed for zero gravity molecular, cellular, and developmental biology experiments.

Quality of the Literacy Environment in Inclusive Early Childhood Special Education Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Ying; Sawyer, Brook E.; Justice, Laura M.; Kaderavek, Joan N.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of the literacy environment in inclusive early childhood special education (ECSE) classrooms ("N" = 54). The first aim was to describe the quality of the literacy environment in terms of structure (i.e., book materials and print/writing materials) and instruction (i.e., instructional…
An Examination of Classroom Social Environment on Motivation and Engagement of College Early Entrant Honors Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddox, Richard S.

2010-01-01

This study set out to examine the relationships between the classroom social environment, motivation, engagement and achievement of a group of early entrant Honors students at a large urban university. Prior research on the classroom environment, motivation, engagement and high ability students was examined, leading to the assumption that the…
Associations among Preschool Children's Classroom Literacy Environment, Interest and Engagement in Literacy Activities, and Early Reading Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baroody, Alison E.; Diamond, Karen E.

2016-01-01

This study examines the relations among the classroom literacy environment, children's interest and engagement in literacy activities, and children's early reading skills in a sample of 167 children aged 4 and 5 years enrolled in 31 Head Start classrooms. Researchers rated the classroom literacy environment. Teachers reported on children's…
Early adaption to the antarctic environment at dome C: consequences on stress-sensitive innate immune functions.

PubMed

Feuerecker, Matthias; Crucian, Brian; Salam, Alex P; Rybka, Ales; Kaufmann, Ines; Moreels, Marjan; Quintens, Roel; Schelling, Gustav; Thiel, Manfred; Baatout, Sarah; Sams, Clarence; Choukèr, Alexander

2014-09-01

Abstract Feuerecker, Matthias, Brian Crucian, Alex P. Salam, Ales Rybka, Ines Kaufmann, Marjan Moreels, Roel Quintens, Gustav Schelling, Manfred Thiel, Sarah Baatout, Clarence Sams, and Alexander Choukèr. Early adaption in the Antarctic environment at Dome C: Consequences on stress-sensitive innate immune functions. High Alt Med Biol 15:341-348, 2014.-Purpose/Aims: Medical reports of Antarctic expeditions indicate that health is affected under these extreme conditions. The present study at CONCORDIA-Station (Dome C, 3233 m) seeks to investigate the early consequences of confinement and hypobaric hypoxia on the human organism. Nine healthy male participants were included in this study. Data collection occurred before traveling to Antarctica (baseline), and at 1 week and 1 month upon arrival. Investigated parameters included basic physiological variables, psychological stress tests, cell blood count, stress hormones, and markers of innate immune functions in resting and stimulated immune cells. By testing for the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production of stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs), the effects of the hypoxia-adenosine-sensitive immune modulatory pathways were examined. As compared to baseline data, reduced oxygen saturation, hemoconcentration, and an increase of secreted catecholamines was observed, whereas no psychological stress was seen. Upon stimulation, the activity of PMNs and L-selectin shedding was mitigated after 1 week. Endogenous adenosine concentration was elevated during the early phase. In summary, living conditions at high altitude influence the innate immune system's response. After 1 month, some of the early effects on the human organism were restored. As this early adaptation is not related to psychological stress, the changes observed are likely to be induced by environmental stressors, especially hypoxia. As hypoxia is triggering ATP-catabolism, leading to elevated endogenous adenosine concentrations, this and the increased catecholamine concentration might contribute to the early, but reversible downregulation of innate immune functions. This indicates the slope of innate immune adaptation to hypoxia.
Developmental influences on fertility decisions by women: an evolutionary perspective.

PubMed

Coall, D A; Tickner, M; McAllister, L S; Sheppard, P

2016-04-19

Developmental environments are crucial for shaping our life course. Elements of the early social and biological environments have been consistently associated with reproduction in humans. To date, a strong focus has been on the relationship between early stress, earlier menarche and first child birth in women. These associations, found predominately in high-income countries, have been usefully interpreted within life-history theory frameworks. Fertility, on the other hand--a missing link between an individual's early environment, reproductive strategy and fitness--has received little attention. Here, we synthesize this literature by examining the associations between early adversity, age at menarche and fertility and fecundity in women. We examine the evidence that potential mechanisms such as birth weight, childhood body composition, risky health behaviours and developmental influences on attractiveness link the early environment and fecundity and fertility. The evidence that menarche is associated with fertility and fecundity is good. Currently, owing to the small number of correlational studies and mixed methodologies, the evidence that early adversity predicts fecundity and fertility is not conclusive. This area of research is in its infancy; studies examining early adversity and adult fertility decisions that can also examine likely biological, social and psychological pathways present opportunities for future fertility research. © 2016 The Author(s).
The microbiome in early life: implications for health outcomes.

PubMed

Tamburini, Sabrina; Shen, Nan; Wu, Han Chih; Clemente, Jose C

2016-07-07

Recent studies have characterized how host genetics, prenatal environment and delivery mode can shape the newborn microbiome at birth. Following this, postnatal factors, such as antibiotic treatment, diet or environmental exposure, further modulate the development of the infant's microbiome and immune system, and exposure to a variety of microbial organisms during early life has long been hypothesized to exert a protective effect in the newborn. Furthermore, epidemiological studies have shown that factors that alter bacterial communities in infants during childhood increase the risk for several diseases, highlighting the importance of understanding early-life microbiome composition. In this review, we describe how prenatal and postnatal factors shape the development of both the microbiome and the immune system. We also discuss the prospects of microbiome-mediated therapeutics and the need for more effective approaches that can reconfigure bacterial communities from pathogenic to homeostatic configurations.
Familial concordance for age at natural menopause: results from the Breakthrough Generations Study.

PubMed

Morris, Danielle H; Jones, Michael E; Schoemaker, Minouk J; Ashworth, Alan; Swerdlow, Anthony J

2011-09-01

Existing estimates of the heritability of menopause age have a wide range. Furthermore, few studies have analyzed to what extent familial similarities might reflect shared environment, rather than shared genes. We therefore analyzed familial concordance for age at natural menopause and the effects of shared genetic and environmental factors on this concordance. Participants were 2,060 individuals comprising first-degree relatives, aged 31 to 90 years, and participating in the UK Breakthrough Generations Study. Menopause data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using logistic regression and variance-components models. Women were at an increased risk of early menopause (≤45 y) if their mother (odds ratio, 6.2; P < 0.001) or non-twin sister (odds ratio, 5.5; P < 0.001) had had an early menopause. Likewise, women had an increased risk of late menopause (≥54 y) if their relative had had a late menopause (mother: odds ratio, 6.1; P < 0.01; non-twin sister: odds ratio, 2.3; P < 0.001). Estimated heritability was 41.6% (P < 0.01), with an additional 13.6% (P = 0.02) of the variation in menopause age attributed to environmental factors shared by sisters. We confirm that early menopause aggregates within families and show, for the first time, that there is also strong familial concordance for late menopause. Both genes and shared environment were the source of variation in menopause age. Past heritability estimates have not accounted for shared environment, and thus, the effect of genetic variants on menopause age may previously have been overestimated.
Can natural and virtual environments be used to promote improved human health and wellbeing?

PubMed

Depledge, M H; Stone, R J; Bird, W J

2011-06-01

Exposure of individuals to natural environments, such as forests and coastlines, can promote stress reduction and assist in mental recovery following intensive cognitive activities. Settings as simple as hospital window views onto garden-like scenes can also be influential in reducing patients' postoperative recovery periods and analgesic requirements. This paper reviews the evidence supporting the exploitation of these restorative natural environments in future healthcare strategies. The paper also describes early research addressing the development of multisensory, computer-generated restorative environments for the benefit of patients with a variety of psychologically related conditions (including depression, attention deficit disorder, pain, and sleep deficit), who may be unable to access and experience real natural environments, such as those in hospices, military rehabilitation centers, and long-term care facilities. The Table of Contents art is a virtual reconstruction of Wembury Bay, in the southwest of the UK, based on imported Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED) to provide the topography and a high-resolution aerial image to provide a template for the location of 3D building and vegetation models, rock features, and pathways. The 3D environment is rendered using the Unity 3 Game Development Tool and includes spatial sound effects (waves, wind, birdsong, etc.), physics-based features (such as early morning sea mist), time-of-day cycles, and real-time weather changes. The Village Church of St. Werburgh can also be seen in this image.
Home Literacy Environments and Foundational Literacy Skills for Struggling and Nonstruggling Readers in Rural Early Elementary Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tichnor-Wagner, Ariel; Garwood, Justin D.; Bratsch-Hines, Mary; Vernon-Feagans, Lynne

2016-01-01

Factors such as weak early literacy skills and living in poverty may put young students at risk for reading disabilities. While home literacy activities and access to literacy materials have been associated with positive reading outcomes for urban and suburban students, little is known about home literacy environments of rural early elementary…
Opening Spaces for Dialogue and Re-Envisioning Children's Bathroom in a Preschool: Practitioner Research with Children on a Sensitive and Neglected Area of Concern

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Millei, Zsuzsa; Gallagher, Jannelle

2012-01-01

Early years environments play a significant role in children's sense of belonging, wellbeing, and learning. Yet, bathroom spaces have received minimal considerations as part of early years environments. Bathroom practices in early childhood settings are usually examined from medical and developmental perspectives, such as pathologies related to…
Early Childhood Educators' Use of Natural Outdoor Settings as Learning Environments: An Exploratory Study of Beliefs, Practices, and Barriers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ernst, Julie

2014-01-01

In efforts to encourage use of natural outdoor settings as learning environments within early childhood education, survey research was conducted with 46 early childhood educators from northern Minnesota (United States) to explore their beliefs and practices regarding natural outdoor settings, as well investigate predictors of and barriers to the…
Long-Term Health Impact of Early Nutrition: The Power of Programming.

PubMed

Koletzko, Berthold; Brands, Brigitte; Grote, Veit; Kirchberg, Franca F; Prell, Christine; Rzehak, Peter; Uhl, Olaf; Weber, Martina

2017-01-01

The Power of Programming conference 2016 at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich brought together about 600 researchers and other stakeholders from around the world who reviewed the recent evidence on the lasting health impact of environment and nutrition during early life, from pre-pregnancy to early childhood. The conference was hosted by the Early Nutrition Project, a multidisciplinary research collaboration funded by the European Commission with collaborating researchers from 35 institutions in 15 countries in Europe, the United States and Australia. The project explores the early origins of obesity, adiposity and associated non-communicable diseases, underlying mechanisms and opportunities for prevention. The project also proactively supports translational application of research findings. In fact, some existing evidence has already been rapidly adopted into policy, regulatory standards and practice. Further, broad dissemination of findings is achieved through the established digital eLearning platform of the Early Nutrition eAcademy, video clip-based learning and graphically supported messaging to consumers. The project demonstrated powerful effects of early metabolic programming on later health. Compared to other common prevention strategies, modifying risk trajectories in early life can achieve a much larger risk reduction and be more cost-effective. While some effective prevention strategies have been promptly implemented in policy and guidelines, legislation and practice, in other areas, the uptake is limited by a paucity of quality human intervention trials and insufficient evaluation of the feasibility of implementation and econometric impact. This needs to be strengthened by future collaborative research work. © 2017 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Environmental and genetic determinants of childhood depression: The roles of DAT1 and the antenatal environment.

PubMed

D'Souza, Stephanie; Thompson, John M D; Slykerman, Rebecca; Marlow, Gareth; Wall, Clare; Murphy, Rinki; Ferguson, Lynnette R; Mitchell, Edwin A; Waldie, Karen E

2016-06-01

Research on adolescent and adult populations has linked depression to variation in several monoaminergic genes, but genetic association studies on depression in children are limited. Additionally, few studies have investigated whether stressors occurring very early in development moderate the influence of certain genes on depression. The aim of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from monoaminergic genes interacted with measures of early life stress to influence depressive symptoms in children. Participants were members of the Auckland Birthweight Collaborative cohort. Small for gestational age (SGA) and maternal stress during pregnancy were measured at birth and used as indicators of early life stress. At age 11, depressive symptoms were measured using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC) and DNA samples were collected for genotyping. A two-way ANOVA revealed that SGA and a SNP from the dopamine transporter gene DAT1 had an interactive effect on children's depressive symptoms. Specifically, symptoms were greater in children born SGA who are T homozygous for the rs1042098 SNP. These findings suggest that adverse intrauterine environments leading to low birth weight also seem to exacerbate the effects of certain DAT1 variants on depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Psychological resilience and the gene regulatory impact of posttraumatic stress in Nepali child soldiers.

PubMed

Kohrt, Brandon A; Worthman, Carol M; Adhikari, Ramesh P; Luitel, Nagendra P; Arevalo, Jesusa M G; Ma, Jeffrey; McCreath, Heather; Seeman, Teresa E; Crimmins, Eileen M; Cole, Steven W

2016-07-19

Adverse social conditions in early life have been linked to increased expression of proinflammatory genes and reduced expression of antiviral genes in circulating immune cells-the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA). However, it remains unclear whether such effects are specific to the Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) cultural environments in which previous research has been conducted. To assess the roles of early adversity and individual psychological resilience in immune system gene regulation within a non-WEIRD population, we evaluated CTRA gene-expression profiles in 254 former child soldiers and matched noncombatant civilians 5 y after the People's War in Nepal. CTRA gene expression was up-regulated in former child soldiers. These effects were linked to the degree of experienced trauma and associated distress-that is, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity-more than to child soldier status per se. Self-perceived psychological resilience was associated with marked buffering of CTRA activation such that PTSD-affected former child soldiers with high levels of personal resilience showed molecular profiles comparable to those of PTSD-free civilians. These results suggest that CTRA responses to early life adversity are not restricted to WEIRD cultural contexts and they underscore the key role of resilience in determining the molecular impact of adverse environments.
Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development

PubMed Central

Fareri, Dominic S.; Tottenham, Nim

2016-01-01

Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one’s social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction. PMID:27174149
ECO and RESOLVE: Galaxy Disk Growth in Environmental Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moffett, Amanda J.; Kannappan, Sheila J.; Berlind, Andreas A.; Eckert, Kathleen D.; Stark, David V.; Hendel, David; Norris, Mark A.; Grogin, Norman A.

2015-10-01

We study the relationships between galaxy environments and galaxy properties related to disk (re)growth, considering two highly complete samples that are approximately baryonic mass limited into the high-mass dwarf galaxy regime, the Environmental COntext catalog (data release herein) and the B-semester region of the REsolved Spectroscopy Of a Local VolumE survey. We quantify galaxy environments using both group identification and smoothed galaxy density field methods. We use by-eye and quantitative morphological classifications plus atomic gas content measurements and estimates. We find that blue early-type (E/S0) galaxies, gas-dominated galaxies, and UV-bright disk host galaxies all become distinctly more common below group halo mass ˜ {10}11.5 {M}⊙ , implying that this low group halo mass regime may be a preferred regime for significant disk growth activity. We also find that blue early-type and blue late-type galaxies inhabit environments of similar group halo mass at fixed baryonic mass, consistent with a scenario in which blue early-types can regrow late-type disks. In fact, we find that the only significant difference in the typical group halo mass inhabited by different galaxy classes is for satellite galaxies with different colors, where at fixed baryonic mass red early- and late-types have higher typical group halo masses than blue early- and late-types. More generally, we argue that the traditional morphology-environment relation (i.e., that denser environments tend to have more early-types) can be largely attributed to the morphology-galaxy mass relation for centrals and the color-environment relation for satellites.
Analyses of space environment effects on active fiber optic links orbited aboard the LDEF

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Edward W.; Monarski, T. W.; Berry, J. N.; Sanchez, A. D.; Padden, R. J.; Chapman, S. P.

1993-01-01

The results of the 'Preliminary Analysis of WL Experiment no. 701, Space Environment Effects on Operating Fiber Optic Systems,' is correlated with space simulated post retrieval terrestrial studies performed on the M0004 experiment. Temperature cycling measurements were performed on the active optical data links for the purpose of assessing link signal to noise ratio and bit error rate performance some 69 months following the experiment deployment in low Earth orbit. The early results indicate a high correlation between pre-orbit, orbit, and post-orbit functionality of the first known and longest space demonstration of operating fiber optic systems.
What's the Rush? Tort Laws and Elective Early-term Induction of Labor.

PubMed

Roth, Louise Marie

2016-12-01

Tort laws aim to deter risky medical practices and increase accountability for harm. This research examines their effects on deterrence of a high-risk obstetric practice in the United States: elective early-term (37-38 weeks gestation) induction of labor. Using birth certificate data from the Natality Detail Files and state-level data from publicly available sources, this study analyzes the effects of tort laws on labor induction with multilevel models (MLM) of 665,491 early-term births nested in states. Results reveal that caps on damages are associated with significantly higher odds of early-term induction and Proportionate Liability (PL) is associated with significantly lower odds compared to Joint and Several Liability (JSL). The findings suggest that clinicians are more likely to engage in practices that defy professional guidelines in tort environments with lower legal burdens. I discuss the implications of the findings for patient safety and the deterrence of high-risk practices. © American Sociological Association 2016.
What doesn't kill you makes you poorer: Adult wages and early-life mortality in India.

PubMed

Lawson, Nicholas; Spears, Dean

2016-05-01

A growing literature indicates that effects of early-life health on adult economic outcomes could be substantial in developing countries, but the magnitude of this effect is debated. We document a robust gradient between the early-life mortality environment to which men in India were locally exposed in their district and year of birth and the wages that they earn as adults. A 1 percentage point reduction in infant mortality (or 10 point reduction in IMR) in an infant's district and year of birth is associated with an approximately 2 percent increase in his subsequent adult wages. Consistent with theories and evidence in the literature, we find that the level of schooling chosen for a child does not mediate this association. Because of its consequences for subsequent wages, early-life health could also have considerable fiscal externalities; if so, public health investments could come at very low net present cost. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Somatic Arc protein expression in hippocampal granule cells is increased in response to environmental change but independent of task-specific learning.

PubMed

Cleland, J P; Willis, E F; Bartlett, P F; Vukovic, J

2017-09-29

Activated neurons express immediate-early genes, such as Arc. Expression of Arc in the hippocampal granule cell layer, an area crucial for spatial learning and memory, is increased during acquisition of spatial learning; however, it is unclear whether this effect is related to the task-specific learning process or to nonspecific aspects of the testing procedure (e.g. exposure to the testing apparatus and exploration of the environment). Herein, we show that Arc-positive cells numbers are increased to the same extent in the granule cell layer after both acquisition of a single spatial learning event in the active place avoidance task and exploration of the testing environment, as compared to naïve (i.e. caged) mice. Repeated exposure the testing apparatus and environment did not reduce Arc expression. Furthermore, Arc expression did not correlate with performance in both adult and aged animals, suggesting that exploration of the testing environment, rather than the specific acquisition of the active place avoidance task, induces Arc expression in the dentate granule cell layer. These findings thus suggest that Arc is an experience-induced immediate-early gene.

Early life stress paradigms in rodents: potential animal models of depression?

PubMed

Schmidt, Mathias V; Wang, Xiao-Dong; Meijer, Onno C

2011-03-01

While human depressive illness is indeed uniquely human, many of its symptoms may be modeled in rodents. Based on human etiology, the assumption has been made that depression-like behavior in rats and mice can be modulated by some of the powerful early life programming effects that are known to occur after manipulations in the first weeks of life. Here we review the evidence that is available in literature for early life manipulation as risk factors for the development of depression-like symptoms such as anhedonia, passive coping strategies, and neuroendocrine changes. Early life paradigms that were evaluated include early handling, separation, and deprivation protocols, as well as enriched and impoverished environments. We have also included a small number of stress-related pharmacological models. We find that for most early life paradigms per se, the actual validity for depression is limited. A number of models have not been tested with respect to classical depression-like behaviors, while in many cases, the outcome of such experiments is variable and depends on strain and additional factors. Because programming effects confer vulnerability rather than disease, a number of paradigms hold promise for usefulness in depression research, in combination with the proper genetic background and adult life challenges.
The Workplace as Learning Environment in Early Childhood Teacher Education: An Investigation of Work-Based Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaarby, Karen Marie Eid; Lindboe, Inger Marie

2016-01-01

The article focuses on the workplace as a learning environment in work-based early childhood teacher education in Norway. The main question is: Which understandings of the workplace as a learning environment are to be found in regulations and policy documents, among students and among staff managers? Taking as the point of departure, a theoretical…
Quality of the Home Learning Environment during Preschool Age--Domains and Contextual Conditions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kluczniok, Katharina; Lehrl, Simone; Kuger, Susanne; Rossbach, Hans-Guenther

2013-01-01

The quality of the home learning environment has been proven to be of major importance for child development, but little is known about the role of domain specificity in promoting early childhood learning at home and its dependence on family background. This article presents a framework of the home learning environment in early childhood that…
The Effect of Early Deprivation on Executive Attention in Middle Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loman, Michelle M.; Johnson, Anna E.; Westerlund, Alissa; Pollak, Seth D.; Nelson, Charles A.; Gunnar, Megan R.

2013-01-01

Background: Children reared in deprived environments, such as institutions for the care of orphaned or abandoned children, are at increased risk for attention and behavior regulation difficulties. This study examined the neurobehavioral correlates of executive attention in post institutionalized (PI) children. Methods: The performance and…
Precursor Model and Preschool Science Learning about Shadows Formation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delserieys, Alice; Jégou, Corinne; Boilevin, Jean-Marie; Ravanis, Konstantinos

2018-01-01

Background: This work is based on the idea that young children benefit from early introduction of scientific concepts. Few researches describe didactical strategies focusing on physics understanding for young children and analyse their effectiveness in standard classroom environments. Purpose: The aim is to identify whether didactical strategies…
A Method of Determining Where to Target Surveillance Efforts in Heterogeneous Epidemiological Systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The spread of pathogens into new environments poses a considerable threat to health, ecosystems, and agricultural productivity worldwide. Early detection through effective surveillance is a key strategy to reduce the risk of their establishment. Whilst it is well established that statistical and eco...
Familial Factors: A Critical Dimension of Early Identification.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Mona

This paper briefly discusses the effects of home environment, parenting, family configuration (number spacing of children) and nutrition on young children's mental development and subsequent school success. Variety and richness of home stimulation are identified as crucial to the child's later academic success. The quality of mothering and…
Theoretical, Developmental & Cultural Orientations of School-Based Prevention Programs for Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Humphries, Marisha L.; Keenan, Kate E.

2006-01-01

Schools are the primary environment in which to conduct prevention programs for school-age children. Educators, policy makers, and psychologist argue that prevention efforts should begin as early as possible to maximize their effectiveness. Surprisingly, there are relatively few school-based prevention programs targeted for preschoolers. Given the…
Kansas Center for Research in Early Childhood Education. Annual Report (Part I) FY'73.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kansas Univ., Lawrence. Kansas Center for Research in Early Childhood Education.

This report includes five documents, three on child care research, and two concerning individual differences and discriminative abilities in newborn and young infants. "The Organization of Infant Day Care Environments: Feedback-Produced Improvements in Staff Job Performance" reports on the effectiveness of monitoring procedures as…
Mental Retirement*

PubMed Central

Rohwedder, Susann; Willis, Robert J.

2010-01-01

Some studies suggest that people can maintain their cognitive abilities through “mental exercise.” This has not been unequivocally proven. Retirement is associated with a large change in a person’s daily routine and environment. In this paper, we propose two mechanisms how retirement may lead to cognitive decline. For many people retirement leads to a less stimulating daily environment. In addition, the prospect of retirement reduces the incentive to engage in mentally stimulating activities on the job. We investigate the effect of retirement on cognition empirically using cross-nationally comparable surveys of older persons in the United States, England, and 11 European countries in 2004. We find that early retirement has a significant negative impact on the cognitive ability of people in their early 60s that is both quantitatively important and causal. Identification is achieved using national pension policies as instruments for endogenous retirement. PMID:20975927
Soybean seed protein oil and fatty acids as influenced by S and S+N fertilizers under irrigated or non-irrigated environments

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Information on the effect of sulfur (S) or sulfur+nitrogen (S+N) on soybean seed composition is almost non-existent. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of S, and S+N fertilizers on soybean [(Glycine max (L.) Merr.)] seed composition in the Early Soybean Production System (ESP...
Early life programming of innate fear and fear learning in adult female rats.

PubMed

Stevenson, Carl W; Meredith, John P; Spicer, Clare H; Mason, Rob; Marsden, Charles A

2009-03-02

The early rearing environment can impact on emotional reactivity and learning later in life. In this study the effects of neonatal maternal separation (MS) on innate fear and fear learning were assessed in the adult female rat. Pups were subjected to MS (360 min), brief handling (H; 15 min), or animal facility rearing (AFR) on post-natal days 2-14. In the first experiment, innate fear was tested in the open field. No differences between the early rearing groups were observed in unconditioned fear. In the second experiment, separate cohorts were used in a 3-day fear learning paradigm which tested the acquisition (Day 1), expression and extinction (both Day 2) of conditioning to an auditory cue; extinction recall was determined as well (Day 3). Contextual fear conditioning was also assessed prior to cue presentations on Days 2 and 3. Whereas MS attenuated the acquisition and expression of fear conditioning to the cue, H potentiated extinction learning. Cue-induced fear was reduced on Day 3, compared to Day 2, indicating that the recall of extinction learning was evident; however, no early rearing group differences in extinction recall were observed. Similarly, while contextual fear was decreased on Day 3, compared to Day 2, there were no differences between the early rearing groups on either day tested. The present findings of altered cue-conditioned fear learning, in the absence of innate fear changes, lend further support for the important role of the early rearing environment in mediating cognition in adulthood.
The influence of galaxy environment on the stellar initial mass function of early-type galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosani, Giulio; Pasquali, Anna; La Barbera, Francesco; Ferreras, Ignacio; Vazdekis, Alexandre

2018-06-01

In this paper, we investigate whether the stellar initial mass function (IMF) of early-type galaxies depends on their host environment. To this purpose, we have selected a sample of early-type galaxies from the SPIDER catalogue, characterized their environment through the group catalogue of Wang et al., and used their optical Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra to constrain the IMF slope, through the analysis of IMF-sensitive spectral indices. To reach a high enough signal-to-noise ratio, we have stacked spectra in velocity dispersion (σ0) bins, on top of separating the sample by galaxy hierarchy and host halo mass, as proxies for galaxy environment. In order to constrain the IMF, we have compared observed line strengths and predictions of MIUSCAT/EMILES synthetic stellar population models, with varying age, metallicity, and `bimodal' (low-mass tapered) IMF slope (Γ _b). Consistent with previous studies, we find that Γ _b increases with σ0, becoming bottom-heavy (i.e. an excess of low-mass stars with respect to the Milky Way like IMF) at high σ0. We find that this result is robust against the set of isochrones used in the stellar population models, as well as the way the effect of elemental abundance ratios is taken into account. We thus conclude that it is possible to use currently state-of-the-art stellar population models and intermediate resolution spectra to consistently probe IMF variations. For the first time, we show that there is no dependence of Γb on environment or galaxy hierarchy, as measured within the 3 arcsec SDSS fibre, thus leaving the IMF as an intrinsic galaxy property, possibly set already at high redshift.
Early Inherited Risk for Anxiety Moderates the Association between Fathers’ Child-Centered Parenting and Early Social Inhibition

PubMed Central

Brooker, Rebecca J.; Alto, Kathleen M.; Marceau, Kristine; Najjar, Reema; Leve, Leslie D.; Ganiban, Jody M.; Shaw, Daniel S.; Reiss, David; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.

2016-01-01

Studies of the role of the early environment in shaping children’s risk for anxiety problems have produced mixed results. It is possible that inconsistencies in previous findings result from a lack of consideration of a putative role for inherited influences moderators on the impact of early experiences. Early inherited influences not only contribute to vulnerabilities for anxiety problems throughout the lifespan, but can also modulate the ways that the early environment impacts child outcomes. In the current study, we tested the effects of child-centered parenting behaviors on putative anxiety risk in young children who differed in levels of inherited vulnerability. We tested this using a parent-offspring adoption design and a sample in which risk for anxiety problems and parenting behaviors were assessed in both mothers and fathers. Inherited influences on anxiety problems were assessed as anxiety symptoms in biological parents. Child-centered parenting was observed in adoptive mothers and fathers when children were 9 months old. Social inhibition, an early temperament marker of anxiety risk, was observed at child ages 9 and 18 months. Inherited influences on anxiety problems moderated the link between paternal child-centered parenting during infancy and social inhibition in toddlerhood. For children whose birth parents reported high levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to greater social inhibition 9 months later. For children whose birth parents reported low levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to less social inhibition across the same period. PMID:27572913
Early inherited risk for anxiety moderates the association between fathers' child-centered parenting and early social inhibition.

PubMed

Brooker, R J; Alto, K M; Marceau, K; Najjar, R; Leve, L D; Ganiban, J M; Shaw, D S; Reiss, D; Neiderhiser, J M

2016-12-01

Studies of the role of the early environment in shaping children's risk for anxiety problems have produced mixed results. It is possible that inconsistencies in previous findings result from a lack of consideration of a putative role for inherited influences moderators on the impact of early experiences. Early inherited influences not only contribute to vulnerabilities for anxiety problems throughout the lifespan, but can also modulate the ways that the early environment impacts child outcomes. In the current study, we tested the effects of child-centered parenting behaviors on putative anxiety risk in young children who differed in levels of inherited vulnerability. We tested this using a parent-offspring adoption design and a sample in which risk for anxiety problems and parenting behaviors were assessed in both mothers and fathers. Inherited influences on anxiety problems were assessed as anxiety symptoms in biological parents. Child-centered parenting was observed in adoptive mothers and fathers when children were 9 months old. Social inhibition, an early temperament marker of anxiety risk, was observed at child ages 9 and 18 months. Inherited influences on anxiety problems moderated the link between paternal child-centered parenting during infancy and social inhibition in toddlerhood. For children whose birth parents reported high levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to greater social inhibition 9 months later. For children whose birth parents reported low levels of anxiety symptoms, greater child-centered parenting in adoptive fathers was related to less social inhibition across the same period.
Quality of maternal and paternal care predicts later stress reactivity in the cooperatively-breeding marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi).

PubMed

Birnie, Andrew K; Taylor, Jack H; Cavanaugh, Jon; French, Jeffrey A

2013-12-01

Variation in the early postnatal social environment can have lasting effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses. Both rats and macaque monkeys subjected to low quality or abusive maternal care during the early postnatal period have more pronounced HPA responses to environmental stressors throughout development and into adulthood compared to animals reared in higher quality early maternal environments. However, little is known about the relative contributions to HPA stress response styles in developing offspring in species in which offspring care is routinely provided by group members other than the mother, such as in cooperatively breeding mammals. Marmoset monkeys exhibit cooperative offspring rearing, with fathers and older siblings providing care in addition to that provided by the mother. We evaluated the effects of early maternal, paternal, and older sibling care on HPA responses to social separation across development in captive white-faced marmoset offspring (Callithrix geoffroyi). We monitored offspring care by mothers, fathers, and older siblings in marmosets for the first 60 days of life. Later in development, each marmoset experienced three standardized social separation/novelty exposure stressors at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. During separation, we collected urine samples and analyzed them via enzyme immunoassay for cortisol levels. Infants that received higher rates of rejections from the entire family group showed higher cortisol responses to social separation. This relationship was found when mothers, fathers, and older siblings, were analyzed separately as well. No differences in cortisol responses were found between offspring that received high and low rates of carrying or high and low rates of licking and grooming by any group member. In the cooperatively breeding marmoset, early social cues from multiple classes of caregivers may influence HPA stress responses throughout the lifespan. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Associative Learning during Early Adulthood Enhances Later Memory Retention in Honeybees

PubMed Central

Arenas, Andrés; Fernández, Vanesa M.; Farina, Walter M.

2009-01-01

Background Cognitive experiences during the early stages of life play an important role in shaping the future behavior in mammals but also in insects, in which precocious learning can directly modify behaviors later in life depending on both the timing and the rearing environment. However, whether olfactory associative learning acquired early in the adult stage of insects affect memorizing of new learning events has not been studied yet. Methodology Groups of adult honeybee workers that experienced an odor paired with a sucrose solution 5 to 8 days or 9 to 12 days after emergence were previously exposed to (i) a rewarded experience through the offering of scented food, or (ii) a non-rewarded experience with a pure volatile compound in the rearing environment. Principal Findings Early rewarded experiences (either at 1–4 or 5–8 days of adult age) enhanced retention performance in 9–12-day-conditioned bees when they were tested at 17 days of age. The highest retention levels at this age, which could not be improved with prior rewarded experiences, were found for memories established at 5–8 days of adult age. Associative memories acquired at 9–12 days of age showed a weak effect on retention for some pure pre-exposed volatile compounds; whereas the sole exposure of an odor at any younger age did not promote long-term effects on learning performance. Conclusions The associative learning events that occurred a few days after adult emergence improved memorizing in middle-aged bees. In addition, both the timing and the nature of early sensory inputs interact to enhance retention of new learning events acquired later in life, an important matter in the social life of honeybees. PMID:19956575
The levels of the GluN2A NMDA receptor subunit are modified in both the neonatal and adult rat brain by an early experience involving denial of maternal contact.

PubMed

Manatos, V; Stylianopoulou, F; Stamatakis, A

2016-01-26

The composition of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor receptor in GluN2A/GluN2B subunits is important in determining its characteristics and its role in plasticity, a property of the brain which is known to be critically affected by early experiences. In the present work we employed an early experience model involving either receipt (RER) or denial (DER) of the expected reward of maternal contact within the context of learning by the pups of a T-maze on postnatal days (PND) 10-13. We investigated the effects of the RER and DER early experiences on GluN1, GluN2A and GluN2B levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus and amygdala of the rat. We show that on PND13 the DER animals had lower GluN2A levels in the PFC. In adulthood DER males had higher GluN2A levels in the hippocampus, both under basal conditions and after exposure to a novel environment. The early experiences did not affect the response to the novelty. After exposure to a novel environment animals of all three groups (DER, RER, Control) responded with an increase in GluN2A levels in the brain areas examined. We did not detect any effects on GluN1 or GluN2B levels. The alterations in GluN2A levels observed in the DER animals could in part be responsible for their behavioral phenotype, described previously, which includes an increased susceptibility for the expression of depressive-like behavior. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.
Quality of Maternal and Paternal Care Predicts Later Stress Reactivity in the Cooperatively-Breeding Marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi)

PubMed Central

Birnie, Andrew K.; Taylor, Jack H.; Cavanaugh, Jon; French, Jeffrey A.

2013-01-01

Variation in the early postnatal social environment can have lasting effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis stress responses. Both rats and macaque monkeys subjected to low quality or abusive maternal care during the early postnatal period have more pronounced HPA responses to environmental stressors throughout development and into adulthood compared to animals reared in higher quality early maternal environments. However, little is known about the relative contributions to HPA stress response styles in developing offspring in species in which offspring care is routinely provided by group members other than the mother, such as in cooperatively breeding mammals. Marmoset monkeys exhibit cooperative offspring rearing, with fathers and older siblings providing care in addition to that provided by the mother. We evaluated the effects of early maternal, paternal, and older sibling care on HPA responses to social separation across development in captive white-faced marmoset offspring (Callithrix geoffroyi). We monitored offspring care by mothers, fathers, and older siblings in marmosets for the first 60 days of life. Later in development, each marmoset experienced three standardized social separation/novelty exposure stressors at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. During separation, we collected urine samples and analyzed them via enzyme immunoassay for cortisol levels. Infants that received higher rates of rejections from the entire family group showed higher cortisol responses to social separation. This relationship was found when mothers, fathers, and older siblings, were analyzed separately as well. No differences in cortisol responses were found between offspring that received high and low rates of carrying or high and low rates of licking and grooming by any group member. In the cooperatively breeding marmoset, early social cues from multiple classes of caregivers may influence HPA stress responses throughout the lifespan. PMID:24099861
Home and Preschool Learning Environments and Their Relations to the Development of Early Numeracy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anders, Yvonne; Rossbach, Hans-Gunther; Weinert, Sabine; Ebert, Susanne; Kuger, Susanne; Lehrl, Simone; von Maurice, Jutta

2012-01-01

This study examined the influence of the quality of home and preschool learning environments on the development of early numeracy skills in Germany, drawing on a sample of 532 children in 97 preschools. Latent growth curve models were used to investigate early numeracy skills and their development from the first (average age: 3 years) to the third…

Bodies Displayed on Walls: Are Children's Bodies Represented in an Inclusive Way in the Pictures on the Walls in Their Early Childhood Educational Environments?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martínez-Bello, Vladimir E.; Martínez-Bello, Judith T.

2017-01-01

The messages conveyed by visual representations in the early childhood education (ECE) environment are critical to ensuring the success of inclusive practices. Given that anti-bias education permeates and affects everything which takes place in ECE institutions, the challenge for early childhood educators is to think creatively about how classroom…
Comparing Cultural Differences in Two Quality Measures in Chinese Kindergartens: The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised and the Kindergarten Quality Rating System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Bi Ying

2015-01-01

This study examined the degrees of congruence between two early childhood evaluation systems on various quality concepts: the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) and Zhejiang's Kindergarten Quality Rating System (KQRS). Analysis of variance and post hoc least significant difference tests were employed to show the extent to…
Assessing Quality of Kindergarten Classrooms in Singapore: Psychometric Properties of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bull, Rebecca; Yao, Shih-Ying; Ng, Ee Lynn

2017-01-01

The early childhood sector in Singapore has witnessed vast changes in the past two decades. One of the key policy aims is to improve classroom quality. To ensure a rigorous evaluation of the quality of early childhood environments in Singapore, it is important to determine whether commonly used assessments of quality are valid indicators across…
Shared virtual environments for aerospace training

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loftin, R. Bowen; Voss, Mark

1994-01-01

Virtual environments have the potential to significantly enhance the training of NASA astronauts and ground-based personnel for a variety of activities. A critical requirement is the need to share virtual environments, in real or near real time, between remote sites. It has been hypothesized that the training of international astronaut crews could be done more cheaply and effectively by utilizing such shared virtual environments in the early stages of mission preparation. The Software Technology Branch at NASA's Johnson Space Center has developed the capability for multiple users to simultaneously share the same virtual environment. Each user generates the graphics needed to create the virtual environment. All changes of object position and state are communicated to all users so that each virtual environment maintains its 'currency.' Examples of these shared environments will be discussed and plans for the utilization of the Department of Defense's Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocols for shared virtual environments will be presented. Finally, the impact of this technology on training and education in general will be explored.
Massive Galaxies Are Larger in Dense Environments: Environmental Dependence of Mass-Size Relation of Early-type Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Yongmin; Im, Myungshin; Kim, Jae-Woo

2017-01-01

Under the Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmological models, massive galaxies are expected to be larger in denser environments through frequent hierarchical mergers with other galaxies. Yet, observational studies of low-redshift early-type galaxies have shown no such trend, standing as a puzzle to solve during the past decade. We analyzed 73,116 early-type galaxies at 0.1 ≤ z < 0.15, adopting a robust nonparametric size measurement technique and extending the analysis to many massive galaxies. We find for the first time that local early-type galaxies heavier than 1011.2 M⊙ show a clear environmental dependence in mass-size relation, in such a way that galaxies are as much as 20%-40% larger in the densest environments than in underdense environments. Splitting the sample into the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and non-BCGs does not affect the result. This result agrees with the ΛCDM cosmological simulations and suggests that mergers played a significant role in the growth of massive galaxies in dense environments as expected in theory.
Larval cases of caddisfly (Insecta: Trichoptera) affinity in Early Permian marine environments of Gondwana

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mouro, Lucas D.; Zatoń, Michał; Fernandes, Antonio C. S.; Waichel, Breno L.

2016-01-01

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are small, cosmopolitan insects closely related to the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Most caddisflies construct protective cases during their larval development. Although the earliest recognisable caddisflies date back to the early Mesozoic (Early and Middle Triassic), being particularly numerous and diverse during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the first records of their larval case constructions are known exclusively from much younger, Early to Middle Jurassic non-marine deposits in the northern hemisphere. Here we present fossils from the Early Permian (Asselian-Sakmarian) marine deposits of Brazil which have strong morphological and compositional similarity to larval cases of caddisflies. If they are, which is very probable, these finds not only push back the fossil record of true caddisflies, but also indicate that their larvae constructed cases at the very beginning of their evolution in marine environments. Since modern caddisflies that construct larval cases in marine environments are only known from eastern Australia and New Zealand, we suggest that this marine ecology may have first evolved in western Gondwana during the Early Permian and later spread across southern Pangea.
Larval cases of caddisfly (Insecta: Trichoptera) affinity in Early Permian marine environments of Gondwana

PubMed Central

Mouro, Lucas D.; Zatoń, Michał; Fernandes, Antonio C.S.; Waichel, Breno L.

2016-01-01

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are small, cosmopolitan insects closely related to the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Most caddisflies construct protective cases during their larval development. Although the earliest recognisable caddisflies date back to the early Mesozoic (Early and Middle Triassic), being particularly numerous and diverse during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the first records of their larval case constructions are known exclusively from much younger, Early to Middle Jurassic non-marine deposits in the northern hemisphere. Here we present fossils from the Early Permian (Asselian–Sakmarian) marine deposits of Brazil which have strong morphological and compositional similarity to larval cases of caddisflies. If they are, which is very probable, these finds not only push back the fossil record of true caddisflies, but also indicate that their larvae constructed cases at the very beginning of their evolution in marine environments. Since modern caddisflies that construct larval cases in marine environments are only known from eastern Australia and New Zealand, we suggest that this marine ecology may have first evolved in western Gondwana during the Early Permian and later spread across southern Pangea. PMID:26765261
Larval cases of caddisfly (Insecta: Trichoptera) affinity in Early Permian marine environments of Gondwana.

PubMed

Mouro, Lucas D; Zatoń, Michał; Fernandes, Antonio C S; Waichel, Breno L

2016-01-14

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are small, cosmopolitan insects closely related to the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Most caddisflies construct protective cases during their larval development. Although the earliest recognisable caddisflies date back to the early Mesozoic (Early and Middle Triassic), being particularly numerous and diverse during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, the first records of their larval case constructions are known exclusively from much younger, Early to Middle Jurassic non-marine deposits in the northern hemisphere. Here we present fossils from the Early Permian (Asselian-Sakmarian) marine deposits of Brazil which have strong morphological and compositional similarity to larval cases of caddisflies. If they are, which is very probable, these finds not only push back the fossil record of true caddisflies, but also indicate that their larvae constructed cases at the very beginning of their evolution in marine environments. Since modern caddisflies that construct larval cases in marine environments are only known from eastern Australia and New Zealand, we suggest that this marine ecology may have first evolved in western Gondwana during the Early Permian and later spread across southern Pangea.
Shared genetic and environmental influences on early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders in Hispanic twins

PubMed Central

Silberg, Judy L.; Gillespie, Nathan; Moore, Ashlee A.; Eaves, Lindon J.; Bates, John; Aggen, Steven; Pfister, Elizabeth; Canino, Glorisa

2015-01-01

Objective Despite an increasing recognition that psychiatric disorders can be diagnosed as early as preschool, little is known how early genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders during this very early period of development. Method We assessed infant temperament at age 1, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) at ages 3 through 5 years in a sample of Hispanic twins. Genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental effects were estimated for each temperamental construct and psychiatric disorder using the statistical program MX. Multivariate genetic models were fitted to determine whether the same or different sets of genes and environments account for the co-occurrence between early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders. Results Additive genetic factors accounted for 61% of the variance in ADHD, 21% in ODD, and 28% in SAD. Shared environmental factors accounted for 34% of the variance in ODD and 15% of SAD. The genetic influence on difficult temperament was significantly associated with preschool ADHD, SAD, and ODD. The association between ODD and SAD was due to both genetic and family environmental factors. The temperamental trait of resistance to control was entirely accounted for by the shared family environment. Conclusions There are different genetic and family environmental pathways between infant temperament and psychiatric diagnoses in this sample of Puerto Rican preschool age children. PMID:25728588
Shared genetic and environmental influences on early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders in Hispanic twins.

PubMed

Silberg, Judy L; Gillespie, Nathan; Moore, Ashlee A; Eaves, Lindon J; Bates, John; Aggen, Steven; Pfister, Elizabeth; Canino, Glorisa

2015-04-01

Despite an increasing recognition that psychiatric disorders can be diagnosed as early as preschool, little is known how early genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders during this very early period of development. We assessed infant temperament at age 1, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) at ages 3 through 5 years in a sample of Hispanic twins. Genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental effects were estimated for each temperamental construct and psychiatric disorder using the statistical program MX. Multivariate genetic models were fitted to determine whether the same or different sets of genes and environments account for the co-occurrence between early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders. Additive genetic factors accounted for 61% of the variance in ADHD, 21% in ODD, and 28% in SAD. Shared environmental factors accounted for 34% of the variance in ODD and 15% of SAD. The genetic influence on difficult temperament was significantly associated with preschool ADHD, SAD, and ODD. The association between ODD and SAD was due to both genetic and family environmental factors. The temperamental trait of resistance to control was entirely accounted for by the shared family environment. There are different genetic and family environmental pathways between infant temperament and psychiatric diagnoses in this sample of Puerto Rican preschool age children.
Adoptive Parent Hostility and Children’s Peer Behavior Problems: Examining the Role of Genetically-Informed Child Attributes on Adoptive Parent Behavior

PubMed Central

Elam, Kit K.; Harold, Gordon T.; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Reiss, David; Shaw, Daniel S.; Natsuaki, Misaki N.; Gaysina, Darya; Barrett, Doug; Leve, Leslie D.

2014-01-01

Socially disruptive behavior during peer interactions in early childhood is detrimental to children’s social, emotional, and academic development. Few studies have investigated the developmental underpinnings of children’s socially disruptive behavior using genetically-sensitive research designs that allow examination of parent-on-child and child-on-parent (evocative genotype-environment correlation) effects when examining family process and child outcome associations. Using an adoption-at-birth design, the present study controlled for passive genotype-environment correlation and directly examined evocative genotype-environment correlation (rGE) while examining the associations between family processes and children’s peer behavior. Specifically, the present study examined the evocative effect of genetic influences underlying toddler low social motivation on mother-child and father-child hostility, and the subsequent influence of parent hostility on disruptive peer behavior during the preschool period. Participants were 316 linked triads of birth mothers, adoptive parents, and adopted children. Path analysis showed that birth mother low behavioral motivation predicted toddler low social motivation, which predicted both adoptive mother-child and father-child hostility, suggesting the presence of an evocative genotype-environment association. In addition, both mother-child and father-child hostility predicted children’s later disruptive peer behavior. Results highlight the importance of considering genetically-influenced child attributes on parental hostility that in turn link to later child social behavior. Implications for intervention programs focusing on early family processes and the precursors of disrupted child social development are discussed. PMID:24364829
Exposure to dim light at night during early development increases adult anxiety-like responses.

PubMed

Borniger, Jeremy C; McHenry, Zachary D; Abi Salloum, Bachir A; Nelson, Randy J

2014-06-22

Early experiences produce effects that may persist throughout life. Therefore, to understand adult phenotype, it is important to investigate the role of early environmental stimuli in adult behavior and health. Artificial light at night (LAN) is an increasingly common phenomenon throughout the world. However, animals, including humans, evolved under dark night conditions. Many studies have revealed affective, immune, and metabolic alterations provoked by aberrant light exposure and subsequent circadian disruption. Pups are receptive to entraining cues from the mother and then light early during development, raising the possibility that the early life light environment may influence subsequent behavior. Thus, to investigate potential influences of early life exposure to LAN on adult phenotype, we exposed mice to dim (~5 lux; full spectrum white light) or dark (~0 lux) nights pre- and/or postnatally. After weaning at 3 weeks of age, all mice were maintained in dark nights until adulthood (9 weeks of age) when behavior was assessed. Mice exposed to dim light in early life increased anxiety-like behavior and fearful responses on the elevated plus maze and passive avoidance tests. These mice also displayed reduced growth rates, which ultimately normalized during adolescence. mRNA expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrophin previously linked to early life environment and adult phenotype, was not altered in the prefrontal cortex or hippocampus by early life LAN exposure. Serum corticosterone concentrations were similar between groups at weaning, suggesting that early life LAN does not elicit a long-term physiologic stress response. Dim light exposure did not influence behavior on the open field, novel object, sucrose anhedonia, or forced swim tests. Our data highlight the potential deleterious consequences of low levels of light during early life to development and subsequent behavior. Whether these changes are due to altered maternal behavior or persistent circadian abnormalities incurred by LAN remains to be determined. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
THE EDUCATION-HEALTH GRADIENT.

PubMed

Conti, Gabriella; Heckman, James; Urzua, Sergio

2010-05-01

In this paper, we determine the role played by early cognitive, noncognitive, and health endowments. We identify the causal effect of education on health and health-related behaviors. We develop an empirical model of schooling choice and post-schooling outcomes, where both schooling and the outcomes determined in part by schooling are influenced by measured early family environments and latent capabilities (cognitive, noncognitive and health). We show that family background characteristics, and cognitive, noncognitive, and health endowments developed by age 10, are important determinants of labor market and health disparities at age 30. Not properly accounting for personality traits overestimates the importance of cognitive ability in determining adult health. Selection on factors determined early in life explains more than half of the observed difference by education in poor health, depression, and obesity. Education has an important causal effect in explaining differences in many adult outcomes and healthy behaviors. We uncover significant gender differences. We go beyond the current literature which typically estimates mean effects to compute distributions of treatment effects. We show how the health returns to education can vary among individuals who are similar with respect to their observed characteristics, and how a mean effect can hide gains and losses for different individuals. Our research highlights the important role played by the early years in producing health.
Solar UV irradiation conditions on the surface of Mars.

PubMed

Rontó, Györgyi; Bérces, Attila; Lammer, Helmut; Cockell, Charles S; Molina-Cuberos, Gregorio J; Patel, Manish R; Selsis, Franck

2003-01-01

The UV radiation environment on planetary surfaces and within atmospheres is of importance in a wide range of scientific disciplines. Solar UV radiation is a driving force of chemical and organic evolution and serves also as a constraint in biological evolution. In this work we modeled the transmission of present and early solar UV radiation from 200 to 400 nm through the present-day and early (3.5 Gyr ago) Martian atmosphere for a variety of possible cases, including dust loading, observed and modeled O3 concentrations. The UV stress on microorganisms and/or molecules essential for life was estimated by using DNA damaging effects (specifically bacteriophage T7 killing and uracil dimerization) for various irradiation conditions on the present and ancient Martian surface. Our study suggests that the UV irradiance on the early Martian surface 3.5 Gyr ago may have been comparable with that of present-day Earth, and though the current Martian UV environment is still quite severe from a biological viewpoint, we show that substantial protection can still be afforded under dust and ice.
Early environment and recruitment of black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) into the breeding population

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sedinger, James S.; Herzog, Mark P.; Ward, David H.

2004-01-01

In geese, growth regulates survival in the first year. We examined whether early growth, which is primarily governed by environmental conditions, also affects the probability that individuals that survive their first year enter the breeding population. We used logistic regression on a sample of Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) that were weighed at a known age in their first summer and observed during winter (indicating that they had survived the principal mortality period in their first year) to study whether early growth influenced the probability that those individuals would be recruited into the breeding population. We also examined the effects of cohort (1986-1996), sex, age when measured, and area where individuals were reared. The model with the lowest Akaike's Information Criterion score contained body mass, age (days) at measurement, cohort, sex, and brood-rearing area. Models that included variable mass had 85% of the cumulative model weight of the models we considered, indicating that gosling mass had a substantial effect on probability of them entering the breeding population. Females were more likely to be detected breeding than males, which is consistent with the differential fidelity of the sexes. Of individuals that survived the first year, larger goslings were more likely to become breeders. More recent cohorts were less likely to have been detected as breeders. Our findings indicate that environment during the growth period affects the ability of individuals to enter the breeding population, even after accounting for the effects of growth on survival.
Early-life adversity programs emotional functions and the neuroendocrine stress system: the contribution of nutrition, metabolic hormones and epigenetic mechanisms.

PubMed

Yam, Kit-Yi; Naninck, Eva F G; Schmidt, Mathias V; Lucassen, Paul J; Korosi, Aniko

2015-01-01

Clinical and pre-clinical studies have shown that early-life adversities, such as abuse or neglect, can increase the vulnerability to develop psychopathologies and cognitive decline later in life. Remarkably, the lasting consequences of stress during this sensitive period on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and emotional function closely resemble the long-term effects of early malnutrition and suggest a possible common pathway mediating these effects. During early-life, brain development is affected by both exogenous factors, like nutrition and maternal care as well as by endogenous modulators including stress hormones. These elements, while mostly considered for their independent actions, clearly do not act alone but rather in a synergistic manner. In order to better understand how the programming by early-life stress takes place, it is important to gain further insight into the exact interplay of these key elements, the possible common pathways as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms that mediate their effects. We here review evidence that exposure to both early-life stress and early-life under-/malnutrition similarly lead to life-long alterations on the neuroendocrine stress system and modify emotional functions. We further discuss how the different key elements of the early-life environment interact and affect one another and next suggest a possible role for the early-life adversity induced alterations in metabolic hormones and nutrient availability in shaping later stress responses and emotional function throughout life, possibly via epigenetic mechanisms. Such knowledge will help to develop intervention strategies, which gives the advantage of viewing the synergistic action of a more complete set of changes induced by early-life adversity.
Does educational attainment increase the risk of low back pain when genetics are considered? A population-based study of Spanish twins.

PubMed

Zadro, Joshua R; Shirley, Debra; Pinheiro, Marina B; Sánchez-Romera, Juan F; Pérez-Riquelme, Francisco; Ordoñana, Juan R; Ferreira, Paulo H

2017-04-01

There is limited research investigating educational attainment as a risk factor for low back pain (LBP), with the influence of gender commonly being neglected. Furthermore, genetics and early shared environment explain a substantial proportion of LBP cases and need to be controlled for when investigating risk factors for LBP. To investigate whether educational attainment affects the prevalence and risk of LBP differently in men and women while controlling for the influence of genetics and early shared environment. This is a cross-sectional and prospective twin case-control study. Adult monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins from the Murcia Twin Registry, with available data on educational attainment, formed the base sample for this study. The prevalence analysis considered twins with available data on LBP in 2013 (n=1,580). The longitudinal analysis considered twins free of LBP at baseline (2009-2011), with available data on LBP at follow-up (2013) (n=1,077). Data on the lifetime prevalence of activity limiting LBP (outcome) and educational attainment (risk factor) were self-reported. The prevalence analysis investigated the cross-sectional association between educational attainment and LBP, whereas the longitudinal analysis investigated whether educational attainment increased the risk of developing LBP. Both analyses were performed in the following sequence. First, a total sample analysis was performed on all twins (considering them as individuals), adjusting for confounding variables selected by the data. Second, to control for the influence of genetics and early shared environment, a within-pair case-control analysis (stratified by zygosity) was performed on complete twin pairs discordant for LBP (ie, one twin had LBP, whereas the co-twin did not). All analyses were stratified for gender where possible, with an interaction term determining whether gender was a significant moderator of the association between educational attainment and LBP. Women with either general secondary or university education were less likely to experience (prevalence analysis) or to develop LBP (longitudinal analysis). Educational attainment did not affect the risk of LBP in men. When controlling for the effects of genetics and early shared environment, the relationship between educational status and LBP in women was no longer statistically significant. Educational attainment affects LBP differently in men and women, with higher levels of education only decreasing the risk of developing LBP in women. After adjusting for genetics and early shared environment, the relationship between educational attainment and LBP in women disappears. This suggests that genetics and early shared environment are confounding the relationship between educational attainment and LBP in women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A stochastic model for early placental development†

PubMed Central

Cotter, Simon L.; Klika, Václav; Kimpton, Laura; Collins, Sally; Heazell, Alexander E. P.

2014-01-01

In the human, placental structure is closely related to placental function and consequent pregnancy outcome. Studies have noted abnormal placental shape in small-for-gestational-age infants which extends to increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease. The origins and determinants of placental shape are incompletely understood and are difficult to study in vivo. In this paper, we model the early development of the human placenta, based on the hypothesis that this is driven by a chemoattractant effect emanating from proximal spiral arteries in the decidua. We derive and explore a two-dimensional stochastic model, and investigate the effects of loss of spiral arteries in regions near to the cord insertion on the shape of the placenta. This model demonstrates that disruption of spiral arteries can exert profound effects on placental shape, particularly if this is close to the cord insertion. Thus, placental shape reflects the underlying maternal vascular bed. Abnormal placental shape may reflect an abnormal uterine environment, predisposing to pregnancy complications. Through statistical analysis of model placentas, we are able to characterize the probability that a given placenta grew in a disrupted environment, and even able to distinguish between different disruptions. PMID:24850904
Doors are closing on early development in corals facing climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keshavmurthy, Shashank; Fontana, Silvia; Mezaki, Takuma; González, Laura Del Caño; Chen, Chaolun Allen

2014-07-01

Marine invertebrates are particularly vulnerable to climatic anomalies in early life history stages because of the time spent in the water column. Studies have focused on the effect of seawater temperature on fertilization, development, and larval stages in corals; however, none of them show comparative results along an environmental gradient. In this study, we show that temperatures in the range of 15-33°C have strong effects on fertilization rates and embryonic stages of two coral species, Acropora muricata in the subtropical environment and Acropora hyacinthus in subtropical and temperate environments. Deformations after the first cleavage stages were observed at low (15°C) and high (33°C) temperatures. Development was delayed by 6-7 h in the slightly non-optimal temperature of 20°C. We found significant differences in fertilization rates and responses of embryos from different latitudes, with temperate corals being more sensitive to extremely hot temperatures and vice versa. We hypothesize that the coral development is restricted to a narrow temperature range and deviation outside this window could inhibit a species' continuance and ecological success. Thus, it would have significant negative effects on adult populations and communities, playing a role in future of coral reef survival.
The Role of Population Origin and Microenvironment in Seedling Emergence and Early Survival in Mediterranean Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton)

PubMed Central

Vizcaíno-Palomar, Natalia; Revuelta-Eugercios, Bárbara; Zavala, Miguel A.; Alía, Ricardo; González-Martínez, Santiago C.

2014-01-01

Understanding tree recruitment is needed to forecast future forest distribution. Many studies have reported the relevant ecological factors that affect recruitment success in trees, but the potential for genetic-based differences in recruitment has often been neglected. In this study, we established a semi-natural reciprocal sowing experiment to test for local adaptation and microenvironment effects (evaluated here by canopy cover) in the emergence and early survival of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton), an emblematic Mediterranean forest tree. A novel application of molecular markers was also developed to test for family selection and, thus, for potential genetic change over generations. Overall, we did not find evidence to support local adaptation at the recruitment stage in our semi-natural experiment. Moreover, only weak family selection (if any) was found, suggesting that in stressful environments with low survival, stochastic processes and among-year climate variability may drive recruitment. Nevertheless, our study revealed that, at early stages of recruitment, microenvironments may favor the population with the best adapted life strategy, irrespectively of its (local or non-local) origin. We also found that emergence time is a key factor for seedling survival in stressful Mediterranean environments. Our study highlights the complexity of the factors influencing the early stages of establishment of maritime pine and provides insights into possible management actions aimed at environmental change impact mitigation. In particular, we found that the high stochasticity of the recruitment process in stressful environments and the differences in population-specific adaptive strategies may difficult assisted migration schemes. PMID:25286410

The role of population origin and microenvironment in seedling emergence and early survival in Mediterranean maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton).

PubMed

Vizcaíno-Palomar, Natalia; Revuelta-Eugercios, Bárbara; Zavala, Miguel A; Alía, Ricardo; González-Martínez, Santiago C

2014-01-01

Understanding tree recruitment is needed to forecast future forest distribution. Many studies have reported the relevant ecological factors that affect recruitment success in trees, but the potential for genetic-based differences in recruitment has often been neglected. In this study, we established a semi-natural reciprocal sowing experiment to test for local adaptation and microenvironment effects (evaluated here by canopy cover) in the emergence and early survival of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton), an emblematic Mediterranean forest tree. A novel application of molecular markers was also developed to test for family selection and, thus, for potential genetic change over generations. Overall, we did not find evidence to support local adaptation at the recruitment stage in our semi-natural experiment. Moreover, only weak family selection (if any) was found, suggesting that in stressful environments with low survival, stochastic processes and among-year climate variability may drive recruitment. Nevertheless, our study revealed that, at early stages of recruitment, microenvironments may favor the population with the best adapted life strategy, irrespectively of its (local or non-local) origin. We also found that emergence time is a key factor for seedling survival in stressful Mediterranean environments. Our study highlights the complexity of the factors influencing the early stages of establishment of maritime pine and provides insights into possible management actions aimed at environmental change impact mitigation. In particular, we found that the high stochasticity of the recruitment process in stressful environments and the differences in population-specific adaptive strategies may difficult assisted migration schemes.
Sexual imprinting misguides species recognition in a facultative interspecific brood parasite

PubMed Central

Sorenson, Michael D.; Hauber, Mark E.; Derrickson, Scott R.

2010-01-01

Sexual reproduction relies on the recognition of conspecifics for breeding. Most experiments in birds have implicated a critical role for early social learning in directing subsequent courtship behaviours and mating decisions. This classical view of avian sexual imprinting is challenged, however, by studies of megapodes and obligate brood parasites, species in which reliable recognition is achieved despite the lack of early experience with conspecifics. By rearing males with either conspecific or heterospecific brood mates, we experimentally tested the effect of early social experience on the association preferences and courtship behaviours of two sympatrically breeding ducks. We predicted that redheads (Aythya americana), which are facultative interspecific brood parasites, would show a diminished effect of early social environment on subsequent courtship preferences when compared with their host and congener, the canvasback (Aythya valisineria). Contrary to expectations, cross-fostered males of both species courted heterospecific females and preferred them in spatial association tests, whereas control males courted and associated with conspecific females. These results imply that ontogenetic constraints on species recognition may be a general impediment to the initial evolution of interspecific brood parasitism in birds. Under more natural conditions, a variety of mechanisms may mitigate or counteract the effects of early imprinting for redheads reared in canvasback broods. PMID:20484239
Sexual imprinting misguides species recognition in a facultative interspecific brood parasite.

PubMed

Sorenson, Michael D; Hauber, Mark E; Derrickson, Scott R

2010-10-22

Sexual reproduction relies on the recognition of conspecifics for breeding. Most experiments in birds have implicated a critical role for early social learning in directing subsequent courtship behaviours and mating decisions. This classical view of avian sexual imprinting is challenged, however, by studies of megapodes and obligate brood parasites, species in which reliable recognition is achieved despite the lack of early experience with conspecifics. By rearing males with either conspecific or heterospecific brood mates, we experimentally tested the effect of early social experience on the association preferences and courtship behaviours of two sympatrically breeding ducks. We predicted that redheads (Aythya americana), which are facultative interspecific brood parasites, would show a diminished effect of early social environment on subsequent courtship preferences when compared with their host and congener, the canvasback (Aythya valisineria). Contrary to expectations, cross-fostered males of both species courted heterospecific females and preferred them in spatial association tests, whereas control males courted and associated with conspecific females. These results imply that ontogenetic constraints on species recognition may be a general impediment to the initial evolution of interspecific brood parasitism in birds. Under more natural conditions, a variety of mechanisms may mitigate or counteract the effects of early imprinting for redheads reared in canvasback broods.
Disturbances in Maternal Steroidogenesis and Appearance of Intrauterine Growth Retardation at High-Altitude Environments Are Established from Early Pregnancy. Effects of Treatment with Antioxidant Vitamins

PubMed Central

Parraguez, Victor H.; Mamani, Sandra; Cofré, Eileen; Castellaro, Giorgio; Urquieta, Bessie; De los Reyes, Mónica; Astiz, Susana; Gonzalez-Bulnes, Antonio

2015-01-01

Pregnancies at high-altitudes are influenced by hypoxia and oxidative stress and frequently affected by IUGR. However, a common thought is that early pregnant women visiting altitude have no major complications for gestation development, since IUGR is developed during the second half of pregnancy. Thus, using a well-characterized sheep-model, we aimed to determine whether long- and/or short-term exposure to high-altitude may affect maternal steroidogenesis and therefore embryo-fetal growth from conception. The second aim was to differentiate the relative role of hypoxia and oxidative stress by assessing the effects of supplementation with antioxidant agents during this early-pregnancy stage, which were previously found to be useful to prevent IUGR. The results indicate that both long- and short-term exposure to high-altitude causes disturbances in maternal ovarian steroidogenesis and negatively affects embryo-fetal growth already during the very early stages of gestation, with the consequences being even worsened in newcomers to high-altitude. The supply of antioxidant during this period only showed discrete effects for preventing IUGR. In conclusion, the present study gives a warning for clinicians about the risks for early-pregnant women when visiting high-altitude regions and suggests the need for further studies on the effects of the length of exposure and on the interaction of the exposure with the pregnancy stage. PMID:26560325
International Trade, Pollution Accumulation and Sustainable Growth: A VAR Estimation from the Pearl River Delta Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Hui; Tian, Lu

2018-03-01

In order to investigate international trade influence in the regional environment. This paper constructs a vector auto-regression (VAR) model and estimates the equations with the environment and trade data of the Pearl River Delta Region. The major mechanisms to the lag are discussed and the fit simulation of the environmental change by the international impulse is given. The result shows that impulse of pollution-intensive export deteriorates the environment continuously and impulse of such import improves it. These effects on the environment are insignificantly correlated with contemporary regional income but significantly correlative to early-stage trade feature. To a typical trade-dependent economy, both export and import have hysteresis influence in the regional environment. The lagged impulse will change environmental development in the turning point, maximal pollution level and convergence.
40 CFR 26.1123 - Early termination of research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Early termination of research. 26.1123 Section 26.1123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...
40 CFR 26.1123 - Early termination of research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Early termination of research. 26.1123 Section 26.1123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...
40 CFR 26.1123 - Early termination of research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Early termination of research. 26.1123 Section 26.1123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...
40 CFR 26.1123 - Early termination of research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Early termination of research. 26.1123 Section 26.1123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...
40 CFR 26.1123 - Early termination of research.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Early termination of research. 26.1123 Section 26.1123 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY GENERAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS Basic Ethical Requirements for Third-Party Human Research for Pesticides Involving Intentional...
The Coevolution of Life and Environment on Mars: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Robotic Exploration of Biosignatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabrol, Nathalie A.

2018-01-01

Earth's biological and environmental evolution are intertwined and inseparable. This coevolution has become a fundamental concept in astrobiology and is key to the search for life beyond our planet. In the case of Mars, whether a coevolution took place is unknown, but analyzing the factors at play shows the uniqueness of each planetary experiment regardless of similarities. Early Earth and early Mars shared traits. However, biological processes on Mars, if any, would have had to proceed within the distinctive context of an irreversible atmospheric collapse, greater climate variability, and specific planetary characteristics. In that, Mars is an important test bed for comparing the effects of a unique set of spatiotemporal changes on an Earth-like, yet different, planet. Many questions remain unanswered about Mars' early environment. Nevertheless, existing data sets provide a foundation for an intellectual framework where notional coevolution models can be explored. In this framework, the focus is shifted from planetary-scale habitability to the prospect of habitats, microbial ecotones, pathways to biological dispersal, biomass repositories, and their meaning for exploration. Critically, as we search for biosignatures, this focus demonstrates the importance of starting to think of early Mars as a biosphere and vigorously integrating an ecosystem approach to landing site selection and exploration.
The Sinorhizobium (Ensifer) fredii HH103 Type 3 Secretion System Suppresses Early Defense Responses to Effectively Nodulate Soybean.

PubMed

Jiménez-Guerrero, Irene; Pérez-Montaño, Francisco; Monreal, José Antonio; Preston, Gail M; Fones, Helen; Vioque, Blanca; Ollero, Francisco Javier; López-Baena, Francisco Javier

2015-07-01

Plants that interact with pathogenic bacteria in their natural environments have developed barriers to block or contain the infection. Phytopathogenic bacteria have evolved mechanisms to subvert these defenses and promote infection. Thus, the type 3 secretion system (T3SS) delivers bacterial effectors directly into the plant cells to alter host signaling and suppress defenses, providing an appropriate environment for bacterial multiplication. Some rhizobial strains possess a symbiotic T3SS that seems to be involved in the suppression of host defenses to promote nodulation and determine the host range. In this work, we show that the inactivation of the Sinorhizobium (Ensifer) fredii HH103 T3SS negatively affects soybean nodulation in the early stages of the symbiotic process, which is associated with a reduction of the expression of early nodulation genes. This symbiotic phenotype could be the consequence of the bacterial triggering of soybean defense responses associated with the production of salicylic acid (SA) and the impairment of the T3SS mutant to suppress these responses. Interestingly, the early induction of the transcription of GmMPK4, which negatively regulates SA accumulation and defense responses in soybean via WRKY33, could be associated with the differential defense responses induced by the parental and the T3SS mutant strain.
A study of environmental effects on galaxy spin using MaNGA data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jong Chul; Hwang, Ho Seong; Chung, Haeun

2018-06-01

We investigate environmental effects on galaxy spin using the recent public data of Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) integral field spectroscopic survey containing ˜2800 galaxies. We measure the spin parameter of 1830 galaxies through the analysis of two-dimensional stellar kinematic maps within the effective radii, and obtain their large-scale (background mass density from 20 nearby galaxies) and small-scale (distance to and morphology of the nearest neighbour galaxy) environmental parameters for 1529 and 1767 galaxies, respectively. We first examine the mass dependence of galaxy spin, and find that the spin parameter of early-type galaxies decreases with stellar mass at log (M*/M⊙) ≳ 10, consistent with the results from previous studies. We then divide the galaxies into three subsamples using their stellar masses to minimize the mass effects on galaxy spin. The spin parameters of galaxies in each subsample do not change with background mass density, but do change with distance to and morphology of the nearest neighbour. In particular, the spin parameter of late-type galaxies decreases as early-type neighbours approach within the virial radius. These results suggest that the large-scale environments hardly affect the galaxy spin, but the small-scale environments such as hydrodynamic galaxy-galaxy interactions can play a substantial role in determining galaxy spin.
Infant Pathways to Externalizing Behavior: Evidence of Genotype x Environment Interaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leve, Leslie D.; Kerr, David C. R.; Shaw, Daniel; Ge, Xiaojia; Neiderhiser, Jenae M.; Scaramella, Laura V.; Reid, John B.; Conger, Rand; Reiss, David

2010-01-01

To further the understanding of the effects of early experiences, 9-month-old infants were observed during a frustration task. The analytical sample was composed of 348 linked triads of participants (adoptive parents, adopted child, and birth parent[s]) from a prospective adoption study. It was hypothesized that genetic risk for externalizing…
Citizenship and Inclusion in the Early Years: Understanding and Responding to Children's Perspectives on "Belonging"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nutbrown, Cathy; Clough, Peter

2009-01-01

This paper argues for, and demonstrates the effectiveness of, including young children in commenting on and improving their learning environments. It reports the experiences gathered from of 16 setting-based, small-scale, practitioner-led projects. Taking a view of citizenship as "participation" the paper shows how practitioner-research…
What's App with that? Selecting Educational Apps for Young Children with Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

More, Cori M.; Travers, Jason C.

2013-01-01

Educational research will likely never be able to keep pace with technological innovation. It therefore will become increasingly important that early childhood professionals rely on existing knowledge to effectively evaluate and integrate emerging technology in the natural environment rather than waiting for a broad platform of research to inform…
Yesterday's Conservationists: How Were They Educated about the Outdoors and the Environment?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Place, Greg S.

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of early-life educational experiences on the development of environmental attitudes among historical conservation individuals. Five key individuals who were active in conservation and environmental issues were identified in this study. Specifically, the goal was to discover what caused…
Introductory Remarks: Points of Concern with Current Interpretations of the Effects of Early Malnutrition on Mental Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, R. H.

1972-01-01

Emphasizes that from a practical point of view, it is important that studies with malnourished children emphasize the interactions between nutrition and environment rather than attempt complex, costly experiments which hopefully will assess the contribution of each of the components alone. (Author/JM)
Ecological succession in the honey bee gut: Shift in Lactobacillus strain dominance during early adult development

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In many vertebrates, social interactions and nutrition can affect the colonization of gut symbionts across generations. We used next generation sequencing to investigate the effect of nest materials and social environment on the colonization and succession of core hindgut microbiota in workers of t...
Epigenetics and the Biological Basis of Gene x Environment Interactions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bagot, Rosemary C.; Meaney, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Objective: Child and adolescent psychiatry is rife with examples of the sustained effects of early experience on brain function. The study of behavioral genetics provides evidence for a relation between genomic variation and personality and with the risk for psychopathology. A pressing challenge is that of "conceptually" integrating findings from…

Weathering and vegetation effects in early stages of soil formation

Treesearch

Jonathan D. Phillips; Alice V. Turkington; Daniel A. Marion

2008-01-01

Bedrock surfaces in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas, exposed by spillway construction and which had not previously been subjected to surface weathering environments, developed 15?20 cm thick soil covers in less than three decades. All open bedrock joints showed evidence of weathering and biological activity. Rock surfaces and fragments also showed evidence of...
Methamphetamine Exposure: A Rural Early Intervention Challenge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lester, Barry M.; Arria, Amelia M.; Derauf, Christian; Grant, Penny; LaGasse, Linda; Newman, Elana; Shah, Rizwan Z.; Stewart, Sara; Wouldes, Trecia

2006-01-01

In the Infant Development, Environment and Lifestyle (IDEAL) Study of methamphetamine (MA) effects on children, the authors screened approximately 27,000 newborn infants for MA exposure, and from that pool derived a sample of in utero MA-exposed children as well as a comparison group matched for other drug use and other factors. IDEAL measures…
A Wholistic Approach to Conflict Resolution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, Harriet

Conflict, as a natural part of daily life is to some extent inevitable in all child care centers. Children need to develop effective strategies to deal with conflict, and educators need to reduce the amount of conflict present in the total child care environment. Two roles early childhood educators can play in encouraging conflict resolution are…
Lack of evidence for intergenerational reproductive effects due to prenatal and postnatal undernutrition in the female CD-1 mouse

EPA Science Inventory

The impacts of adverse environments during the prenatal and/or early postnatal periods may be manifested as functional deficits that occur later in life. Epidemiological studies have shown an association of sub-optimal pregnancy outcomes in one generation with similar events in t...
Parents' Shared Storybook Reading--Learning to Read

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saracho, Olivia N.

2017-01-01

Parents engage in joint story book sharing where adults read an appropriate text to children, usually in the home environment. Story book sharing promotes the young children's development of receptive and expressive language abilities as well as their emerging early literacy abilities, which have an effect on the children's success in school-based…
Social-Emotional Development, School Readiness, Teacher-Child Interactions, and Classroom Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heller, Sherryl Scott; Rice, Janet; Boothe, Allison; Sidell, Margo; Vaughn, Krystal; Keyes, Angela; Nagle, Geoffrey

2012-01-01

This article investigates the effectiveness of a statewide 6-month early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) model on teachers' emotional support of children and classroom organization. We provide a brief historical and theoretical background of the field of ECMHC, present the logic model for our ECMHC intervention, and discuss the…
Decision-Making Skills for Middle School Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergmann, Sherrel; Rudman, Gerald J.

Early adolescence is a time when students require adult assistance to become accurate and effective decision makers and problem solvers. Because of the fragmented nature of society, the family structure, and the schooling process, schools need to establish a nonthreatening environment in which students can discuss the issues related to growing up.…
An Alternative Educational Method in Early Childhood: Museum Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akamca, Güzin Özyilmaz; Yildirim, R. Gunseli; Ellez, A. Murat

2017-01-01

According to the preschool education program that came into effect by Turkish Ministry of Education in Turkey in 2013, teaching should be offered not only in classrooms but also in places outside classrooms likely to boost learning. The program required utilizing learning techniques, and environments different from conventional ones. The aim of…
Early life stage (ELS) toxicity of sucralose to fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas.

PubMed

Stoddard, K I; Huggett, D B

2014-10-01

Sucralose, an intense artificial sweetener, has been detected in wastewater and surface waters at concentrations ranging from ng/L to low µg/L. Although over a hundred studies have been conducted to evaluate the safety of sucralose for human consumption, few studies have focused on the chronic ecotoxicological effects of this compound in fish. As a remedy to this data gap, an early-life stage toxicity test was conducted to assess the effects of sucralose on hatching, survival, and growth of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Hatching, survival, and growth were unaffected by 98 mg/L of sucralose. The Lowest-Observed-Effect Concentration (LOEC) and the No-Observed-Effect Concentration (NOEC) for fathead minnows determined by this study are >98 and 98 mg/L, respectively. The results from this study suggest that the concentrations of sucralose detected in the environment are well below those required to cause adverse effects to developing aquatic organisms.
A “virtually minimal” visuo-haptic training of attention in severe traumatic brain injury

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Although common during the early stages of recovery from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), attention deficits have been scarcely investigated. Encouraging evidence suggests beneficial effects of attention training in more chronic and higher functioning patients. Interactive technology may provide new opportunities for rehabilitation in inpatients who are earlier in their recovery. Methods We designed a “virtually minimal” approach using robot-rendered haptics in a virtual environment to train severely injured inpatients in the early stages of recovery to sustain attention to a visuo-motor task. 21 inpatients with severe TBI completed repetitive reaching toward targets that were both seen and felt. Patients were tested over two consecutive days, experiencing 3 conditions (no haptic feedback, a break-through force, and haptic nudge) in 12 successive, 4-minute blocks. Results The interactive visuo-haptic environments were well-tolerated and engaging. Patients typically remained attentive to the task. However, patients exhibited attention loss both before (prolonged initiation) and during (pauses during motion) a movement. Compared to no haptic feedback, patients benefited from haptic nudge cues but not break-through forces. As training progressed, patients increased the number of targets acquired and spontaneously improved from one day to the next. Conclusions Interactive visuo-haptic environments could be beneficial for attention training for severe TBI patients in the early stages of recovery and warrants further and more prolonged clinical testing. PMID:23938101
A "virtually minimal" visuo-haptic training of attention in severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Dvorkin, Assaf Y; Ramaiya, Milan; Larson, Eric B; Zollman, Felise S; Hsu, Nancy; Pacini, Sonia; Shah, Amit; Patton, James L

2013-08-09

Although common during the early stages of recovery from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), attention deficits have been scarcely investigated. Encouraging evidence suggests beneficial effects of attention training in more chronic and higher functioning patients. Interactive technology may provide new opportunities for rehabilitation in inpatients who are earlier in their recovery. We designed a "virtually minimal" approach using robot-rendered haptics in a virtual environment to train severely injured inpatients in the early stages of recovery to sustain attention to a visuo-motor task. 21 inpatients with severe TBI completed repetitive reaching toward targets that were both seen and felt. Patients were tested over two consecutive days, experiencing 3 conditions (no haptic feedback, a break-through force, and haptic nudge) in 12 successive, 4-minute blocks. The interactive visuo-haptic environments were well-tolerated and engaging. Patients typically remained attentive to the task. However, patients exhibited attention loss both before (prolonged initiation) and during (pauses during motion) a movement. Compared to no haptic feedback, patients benefited from haptic nudge cues but not break-through forces. As training progressed, patients increased the number of targets acquired and spontaneously improved from one day to the next. Interactive visuo-haptic environments could be beneficial for attention training for severe TBI patients in the early stages of recovery and warrants further and more prolonged clinical testing.
Allostasis and Allostatic Load in the Context of Poverty in Early Childhood

PubMed Central

Blair, Clancy; Raver, Cybele; Granger, Douglas; Mills-Koonce, Roger; Hibel, Leah

2014-01-01

This paper examined the relation of early environmental adversity associated with poverty to child resting or basal level of cortisol in a prospective longitudinal sample of 1,135 children seen at 7, 15, 24, 35, and 48 months of age. We found main effects for length of time in poverty, poor housing quality, African American ethnicity, and low positive caregiving behavior in which each was uniquely associated with an overall higher level of cortisol from age 7 months to 48 months. We also found that two aspects of the early environment in the context of poverty, adult exits from the home and perceived economic insufficiency, were related to salivary cortisol in a time dependent manner. The effect for the first of these, exits from the home, was consistent with the principle of allostatic load in which the effects of adversity on stress physiology accumulate over time. The effect for perceived economic insufficiency was one in which insufficiency was associated with higher levels of cortisol in infancy but with a typical but steeper decline in cortisol with age at subsequent time points. PMID:21756436
Change of School in Early Adolescence and Adverse Obesity-Related Dietary Behavior: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, Victoria, Australia, 2013-2014.

PubMed

Marks, Jennifer; Barnett, Lisa M; Allender, Steven

2015-09-10

Environments that facilitate energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets are associated with childhood obesity. We examined the effect of a change of school environment on the prevalence of obesity and related dietary behavior in early adolescence. Fifteen schools in Victoria, Australia, were recruited at random from the bottom 2 strata of a 5-level socioeconomic scale. In 9 schools, students in grade 6 primary school transitioned to different schools for grade 7 secondary school, whereas in 6 schools, students remained in the same school from grade 6 to grade 7. Time 1 measures were collected from students (N = 245) in grade 6 (aged 11-13 y). Time 2 data were collected from 243 (99%) of the original cohort in grade 7. Data collected were dietary recall self-reported by students via questionnaire, measured height and weight of students, and aspects of the school food environment via school staff survey. Comparative and mixed model regression analyses were conducted. Of 243 students, 63% (n = 152) changed schools from time 1 to time 2, with no significant difference in weight status. Students who changed schools reported an increase in purchases of after-school snack food, greater sweetened beverage intake, fewer fruit-and-vegetable classroom breaks, and less encouragement for healthy eating compared with students who remained in the same school. School staff surveys showed that more primary than secondary schools had written healthy canteen policies and fewer days of canteen or food services operation. A change of school environment has negative effects on children's obesity-related dietary behavior. Consistent policy is needed across school types to support healthy eating in school environments.
Change of School in Early Adolescence and Adverse Obesity-Related Dietary Behavior: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, Victoria, Australia, 2013–2014

PubMed Central

Barnett, Lisa M.; Allender, Steven

2015-01-01

Introduction Environments that facilitate energy-dense, nutrient-poor diets are associated with childhood obesity. We examined the effect of a change of school environment on the prevalence of obesity and related dietary behavior in early adolescence. Methods Fifteen schools in Victoria, Australia, were recruited at random from the bottom 2 strata of a 5-level socioeconomic scale. In 9 schools, students in grade 6 primary school transitioned to different schools for grade 7 secondary school, whereas in 6 schools, students remained in the same school from grade 6 to grade 7. Time 1 measures were collected from students (N = 245) in grade 6 (aged 11–13 y). Time 2 data were collected from 243 (99%) of the original cohort in grade 7. Data collected were dietary recall self-reported by students via questionnaire, measured height and weight of students, and aspects of the school food environment via school staff survey. Comparative and mixed model regression analyses were conducted. Results Of 243 students, 63% (n= 152) changed schools from time 1 to time 2, with no significant difference in weight status. Students who changed schools reported an increase in purchases of after-school snack food, greater sweetened beverage intake, fewer fruit-and-vegetable classroom breaks, and less encouragement for healthy eating compared with students who remained in the same school. School staff surveys showed that more primary than secondary schools had written healthy canteen policies and fewer days of canteen or food services operation. Conclusion A change of school environment has negative effects on children’s obesity-related dietary behavior. Consistent policy is needed across school types to support healthy eating in school environments. PMID:26355826
Early Life Precursors, Epigenetics, and the Development of Food Allergy1

PubMed Central

Hong, Xiumei; Wang, Xiaobin

2012-01-01

Food allergy (FA), a major clinical and public health concern worldwide, is caused by a complex interplay of environmental exposures, genetic variants, gene-environment interactions, and epigenetic alterations. This review summarizes recent advances surrounding these key factors, with a particular focus on the potential role of epigenetics in the development of FA. Epidemiologic studies have reported a number of non-genetic factors that may influence the risk of FA, such as timing of food introduction and feeding pattern, diet/nutrition, exposure to environmental tobacco smoking, prematurity and low birthweight, microbial exposure, and race/ethnicity. Current studies on the genetics of FA are mainly conducted using candidate gene approaches, which have linked more than 10 genes to the genetic susceptibility of FA. Studies on gene-environment interactions of FA are very limited. Epigenetic alteration has been proposed as one of the mechanisms to mediate the influence of early-life environmental exposures and gene-environment interactions on the development of diseases later in life. The role of epigenetics in the regulation of the immune system and the epigenetic effects of some FA-associated environmental exposures are discussed in this review. There is a particular lack of large-scale prospective birth cohort studies that simultaneously assess the inter-relationships of early life exposures, genetic susceptibility, epigenomic alterations and the development of FA. The identification of these key factors and their independent and joint contributions to FA will allow us to gain important insight into the biological mechanisms by which environmental exposures and genetic susceptibility affect the risk of FA, and will provide essential information to develop more effective new paradigms in the diagnosis, prevention and management of FA. PMID:22777545
Recovery kinetics of photochemical efficiency in winter stressed conifers: the effects of growth light environment, extent of the season and species.

PubMed

Verhoeven, Amy S

2013-02-01

Evergreens undergo reductions in maximal photochemical efficiency (F(v)/F(m)) during winter due to increases in sustained thermal energy dissipation. Upon removing winter stressed leaves to room temperature and low light, F(v)/F(m) recovers and can include both a rapid and a slow phase. The goal of this study was to determine whether the rapid component to recovery exists in winter stressed conifers at any point during the season in a seasonally extreme environment. Additional goals were to compare the effects of species, growth light environment and the extent of the winter season on recovery kinetics in conifers. Four species (sun and shade needle) were monitored during the winter of 2007/2008: eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), balsam fir (Abies balsamea), Taxus cuspidata and white spruce (Picea glauca). F(v)/F(m) was measured in the field, and then monitored indoors at room temperature and low light for 6 days. The results showed that all species showed a rapid component to recovery in early winter that disappeared later in the season in sun needles but was present in shade needles on most days monitored during winter. There were differences among species in the recovery kinetics across the season, with pine recovering the most slowly and spruce the most quickly. The results suggest an important role for the rapidly reversible form of energy dissipation in early winter, as well as important differences between species in their rate of recovery in late winter/early spring which may have implications for spring onset of photosynthesis. Copyright © Physiologia Plantarum 2012.
Differentiation of Effect Across Systemic Literacy Programs in Rwanda, the Philippines, and Senegal.

PubMed

Christina, Rachel; Vinogradova, Elena

2017-03-01

In this article, we compare three localized applications (in Rwanda, Senegal, and the Philippines) of a literacy approach for resource-lean environments and examine the factors influencing its impact in each context, considering dosage, duration, and environment. In Rwanda, a bilingual early grade literacy initiative implemented in partnership with the ministry of education included literacy standards development, training for early grade teachers, materials development, leadership support, and community-based activities. In the Philippines, a primary grades trilingual curriculum was implemented in close collaboration with the Department of Education to strengthen its literacy component through standards development, teacher and school leader training, materials development, and awareness campaigns. Finally, in Senegal, a program was conducted supporting the YMCA's efforts to improve local educational outcomes by training youth volunteers to mentor students at risk and by engaging families and communities. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Gene-environment interaction in atopic diseases: a population-based twin study of early-life exposures.

PubMed

Kahr, Niklas; Naeser, Vibeke; Stensballe, Lone Graff; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm; Skytthe, Axel; Backer, Vibeke; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Thomsen, Simon Francis

2015-01-01

The development of atopic diseases early in life suggests an important role of perinatal risk factors. To study whether early-life exposures modify the genetic influence on atopic diseases in a twin population. Questionnaire data on atopic diseases from 850 monozygotic and 2279 like-sex dizygotic twin pairs, 3-9 years of age, from the Danish Twin Registry were cross-linked with data on prematurity, Cesarean section, maternal age at birth, parental cohabitation, season of birth and maternal smoking during pregnancy, from the Danish National Birth Registry. Significant predictors of atopic diseases were identified with logistic regression and subsequently tested for genetic effect modification using variance components analysis. After multivariable adjustment, prematurity (gestational age below 32 weeks) [odds ratio (OR) = 1.93, confidence interval (CI) = 1.45-2.56], Cesarean section (OR = 1.25, CI = 1.05-1.49) and maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.70, CI = 1.42-2.04) significantly influenced the risk of asthma, whereas none of the factors were significantly associated with atopic dermatitis and hay fever. Variance components analysis stratified by exposure status showed no significant change in the heritability of asthma according to the identified risk factors. In this population-based study of children, there was no evidence of genetic effect modification of atopic diseases by several identified early-life risk factors. The causal relationship between these risk factors and atopic diseases may therefore be mediated via mechanisms different from gene-environment interaction. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Influences of early child nutritional status and home learning environment on child development in Vietnam.

PubMed

Nguyen, Phuong H; DiGirolamo, Ann M; Gonzalez-Casanova, Ines; Young, Melissa; Kim, Nicole; Nguyen, Son; Martorell, Reynaldo; Ramakrishnan, Usha

2018-01-01

Early childhood development plays a key role in a child's future health, educational success, and economic status. However, suboptimal early development remains a global challenge. This study examines the influences of quality of the home learning environment (HOME) and child stunting in the first year of life on child development. We used data collected from a randomized controlled trial of preconceptional micronutrient supplementation in Vietnam (n = 1,458). The Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III were used to assess cognition, language, and motor development domains at 2 years. At 1 year, 14% of children were stunted, and 15%, 58%, and 28% of children lived in poor, medium, and high HOME environments, respectively. In multivariate generalized linear regression models, living in a high HOME environment was significantly associated with higher scores (0.10 to 0.13 SD) in each of the developmental domains. Stunted children scored significantly lower for cognitive, language, and motor development (-0.11 to -0.18), compared to nonstunted children. The negative associations between stunting on development were modified by HOME; the associations were strong among children living in homes with a poor learning environment whereas they were nonsignificant for those living in high-quality learning environments. In conclusion, child stunting the first year of life was negatively associated with child development at 2 years among children in Vietnam, but a high-quality HOME appeared to attenuate these associations. Early interventions aimed at improving early child growth as well as providing a stimulating home environment are critical to ensure optimal child development. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
40 CFR 63.78 - Early reduction demonstration evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Early reduction demonstration... Regulations Governing Compliance Extensions for Early Reductions of Hazardous Air Pollutants § 63.78 Early reduction demonstration evaluation. (a) The permitting authority will evaluate an early reduction...

40 CFR 63.78 - Early reduction demonstration evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Early reduction demonstration... Regulations Governing Compliance Extensions for Early Reductions of Hazardous Air Pollutants § 63.78 Early reduction demonstration evaluation. (a) The permitting authority will evaluate an early reduction...
Early Results from the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elphic, R. C.; Hine, B.; Delory, G. T.; Mahaffy, Paul; Benna, Mehdi; Horanyi, Mihaly; Colaprete, Anthony; Noble, Sarah

2014-01-01

On 6 September, 2013, a near-perfect launch of the first Minotaur V rocket successfully carried NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) into a high-eccentricity geocentric orbit. After 30 days of phasing, LADEE arrived at the Moon on 6 October, 2013. LADEE's science objectives are twofold: (1) Determine the composition of the lunar atmosphere, investigate processes controlling its distribution and variability, including sources, sinks, and surface interactions; (2) Characterize the lunar exospheric dust environment, measure its spatial and temporal variability, and effects on the lunar atmosphere, if any. After a successful commissioning phase, the three science instruments have made systematic observations of the lunar dust and exospheric environment. These include initial observations of argon, neon and helium exospheres, and their diurnal variations; the lunar micrometeoroid impact ejecta cloud and its variations; spatial and temporal variations of the sodium exosphere; and the search for sunlight extinction caused by dust. LADEE also made observations of the effects of the Chang'e 3 landing on 14 December 2013.
Detrimental effects of rhizobial inoculum early in the life of partridge pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata.

PubMed

Pain, Rachel E; Shaw, Ruth G; Sheth, Seema N

2018-05-16

Mutualistic relationships with microbes may aid plants in overcoming environmental stressors and increase the range of abiotic environments where plants can persist. Rhizobia, nitrogen-fixing bacteria associated with legumes, often confer fitness benefits to their host plants by increasing access to nitrogen in nitrogen-limited soils, but effects of rhizobia on host fitness under other stresses, such as drought, remain unclear. In this greenhouse study, we varied the application of rhizobia (Bradyrhizobium sp.) inoculum and drought to examine whether the fitness benefits of rhizobia to their host, partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), would differ between drought and well-watered conditions. Plants were harvested 9 weeks after seeds were sown. Young C. fasciculata plants that had been inoculated had lower biomass, leaf relative growth rate, and stem relative growth rate compared to young uninoculated plants in both drought and well-watered environments. Under the conditions of this study, the rhizobial interaction imposed a net cost to their hosts early in development. Potential reasons for this cost include allocating more carbon to nodule and root development than to aboveground growth and a geographic mismatch between the source populations of host plants and rhizobia. If developing plants incur such costs from rhizobia in nature, they may suffer an early disadvantage relative to other plants, whether conspecifics lacking rhizobia or heterospecifics. © 2018 Botanical Society of America.
Programming social, cognitive, and neuroendocrine development by early exposure to novelty.

PubMed

Tang, Akaysha C; Akers, Katherine G; Reeb, Bethany C; Romeo, Russell D; McEwen, Bruce S

2006-10-17

Mildly stressful early life experiences can potentially impact a broad range of social, cognitive, and physiological functions in humans, nonhuman primates, and rodents. Recent rodent studies favor a maternal-mediation hypothesis that considers maternal-care differences induced by neonatal stimulation as the cause of individual differences in offspring development. Using neonatal novelty exposure, a neonatal stimulation paradigm that dissociates maternal individual differences from a direct stimulation effect on the offspring, we investigated the effect of early exposures to novelty on a diverse range of psychological functions using several assessment paradigms. Pups that received brief neonatal novelty exposures away from the home environment showed enhancement in spatial working memory, social competition, and corticosterone response to surprise during adulthood compared with their home-staying siblings. These functional enhancements in novelty-exposed rats occurred despite evidence that maternal care was directed preferentially toward home-staying instead of novelty-exposed pups, indicating that greater maternal care is neither necessary nor sufficient for these early stimulation-induced functional enhancements. We suggest a unifying maternal-modulation hypothesis, which distinguishes itself from the maternal-mediation hypothesis in that (i) neonatal stimulation can have direct effects on pups, cumulatively leading to long-term improvement in adult offspring; and (ii) maternal behavior can attenuate or potentiate these effects, thereby decreasing or increasing this long-term functional improvement.
Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development.

PubMed

Fareri, Dominic S; Tottenham, Nim

2016-06-01

Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one's social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Early warning signals of regime shifts in coupled human–environment systems

PubMed Central

Bauch, Chris T.; Sigdel, Ram; Pharaon, Joe; Anand, Madhur

2016-01-01

In complex systems, a critical transition is a shift in a system’s dynamical regime from its current state to a strongly contrasting state as external conditions move beyond a tipping point. These transitions are often preceded by characteristic early warning signals such as increased system variability. However, early warning signals in complex, coupled human–environment systems (HESs) remain little studied. Here, we compare critical transitions and their early warning signals in a coupled HES model to an equivalent environment model uncoupled from the human system. We parameterize the HES model, using social and ecological data from old-growth forests in Oregon. We find that the coupled HES exhibits a richer variety of dynamics and regime shifts than the uncoupled environment system. Moreover, the early warning signals in the coupled HES can be ambiguous, heralding either an era of ecosystem conservationism or collapse of both forest ecosystems and conservationism. The presence of human feedback in the coupled HES can also mitigate the early warning signal, making it more difficult to detect the oncoming regime shift. We furthermore show how the coupled HES can be “doomed to criticality”: Strategic human interactions cause the system to remain perpetually in the vicinity of a collapse threshold, as humans become complacent when the resource seems protected but respond rapidly when it is under immediate threat. We conclude that the opportunities, benefits, and challenges of modeling regime shifts and early warning signals in coupled HESs merit further research. PMID:27815533
Euryhaline ecology of early tetrapods revealed by stable isotopes.

PubMed

Goedert, Jean; Lécuyer, Christophe; Amiot, Romain; Arnaud-Godet, Florent; Wang, Xu; Cui, Linlin; Cuny, Gilles; Douay, Guillaume; Fourel, François; Panczer, Gérard; Simon, Laurent; Steyer, J-Sébastien; Zhu, Min

2018-06-01

The fish-to-tetrapod transition-followed later by terrestrialization-represented a major step in vertebrate evolution that gave rise to a successful clade that today contains more than 30,000 tetrapod species. The early tetrapod Ichthyostega was discovered in 1929 in the Devonian Old Red Sandstone sediments of East Greenland (dated to approximately 365 million years ago). Since then, our understanding of the fish-to-tetrapod transition has increased considerably, owing to the discovery of additional Devonian taxa that represent early tetrapods or groups evolutionarily close to them. However, the aquatic environment of early tetrapods and the vertebrate fauna associated with them has remained elusive and highly debated. Here we use a multi-stable isotope approach (δ 13 C, δ 18 O and δ 34 S) to show that some Devonian vertebrates, including early tetrapods, were euryhaline and inhabited transitional aquatic environments subject to high-magnitude, rapid changes in salinity, such as estuaries or deltas. Euryhalinity may have predisposed the early tetrapod clade to be able to survive Late Devonian biotic crises and then successfully colonize terrestrial environments.
Early life influences on cognitive impairment among oldest old Chinese.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhenmei; Gu, Danan; Hayward, Mark D

2008-01-01

This article examines the effects of early life socioeconomic conditions on the risk of cognitive impairment among oldest old persons in China. We also examine whether adult socioeconomic status mediates the association between early life socioeconomic status and cognitive impairment in old age. Data derived from two waves (1998-2000) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. We estimated logistic and multinomial regression models of cognitive impairment for a nationwide sample of people aged 80 to 105 (N = 8,444). Among both men and women, urban residence in early life as well as education was associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment at baseline. We found modest support for a protective effect of advantaged childhood background on the odds of cognitive impairment onset during the 2-year follow-up, especially among women. Our findings suggest that socioeconomic environment throughout the life course, early life in particular, can influence the risk of cognitive impairment in old age. Not only can public policy that targets illiteracy, hunger, and poverty improve the lives of tens of thousands of children, but ultimately such investments will pay significant dividends many decades later in enhancing the cognitive well-being of older persons.
Parenting begets parenting: A neurobiological perspective on early adversity and the transmission of parenting styles across generations.

PubMed

Lomanowska, A M; Boivin, M; Hertzman, C; Fleming, A S

2017-02-07

The developing brains of young children are highly sensitive to input from their social environment. Nurturing social experience during this time promotes the acquisition of social and cognitive skills and emotional competencies. However, many young children are confronted with obstacles to healthy development, including poverty, inappropriate care, and violence, and their enhanced sensitivity to the social environment means that they are highly susceptible to these adverse childhood experiences. One source of social adversity in early life can stem from parenting that is harsh, inconsistent, non-sensitive or hostile. Parenting is considered to be the cornerstone of early socio-emotional development and an adverse parenting style is associated with adjustment problems and a higher risk of developing mood and behavioral disorders. Importantly, there is a growing literature showing that an important predictor of parenting behavior is how parents, especially mothers, were parented themselves. In this review, we examine how adversity in early-life affects mothering behavior in later-life and how these effects may be perpetuated inter-generationally. Relying on studies in humans and animal models, we consider evidence for the intergenerational transmission of mothering styles. We then describe the psychological underpinnings of mothering, including responsiveness to young, executive function and affect, as well as the physiological mediators of mothering behavior, including hormones, brain regions and neurotransmitters, and we consider how development in these relevant domains may be affected by adversity experienced in early life. Finally, we explore how genes and early experience interact to predict mothering behavior, including the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms. Understanding how adverse parenting begets adverse parenting in the next generation is critical for designing interventions aimed at preventing this intergenerational cycle of early adversity. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Centre-Based Child Care Quality in Urban Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishimine, Karin; Wilson, Rachel

2009-01-01

This study investigates the quality of childcare centres in urban Australian communities designated according to different bands of Centre Location Demographics (CLD). Childcare centres were assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale- Revised Edition (ECERS-R) and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Extension (ECERS-E).…
Making Best Practice Our Practice: Reflections on Our Journey into Natural Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Lydia; Koger, Dawn; Blomberg, Susan; Legg, Lynn; McConahy, Renee; Wit, Susan; Gatmaitan, Michelle

2012-01-01

This article focuses on one early intervention team's transition from a multidisciplinary center-based model to a transdisciplinary, natural environment service delivery model. The team consisted of an occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech and language pathologist, and early intervention teacher. Each team member began with different…
Studies Toward Birth and Early Mammalian Development in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ronca, April E.; Dalton, Bonnie (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Successful reproduction is the hallmark of a species' ability to adapt to its environment and must be realized to sustain life beyond Earth. Before taking this immense step, we need to understand the effects of altered gravity on critical phases of mammalian reproduction, viz., those events surrounding pregnancy, birth and the early development of offspring. No mammal has yet undergone birth in space. however studies spanning the gravity continuum from 0 to 2-g are revealing insights into how birth and early postnatal development will proceed in space. In this presentation, I will report the results of behavioral studies of rat mothers and offspring exposed from mid- to late pregnancy to either hypogravity (0-g) or hypergravity (1.5 or 2-g).
The early life nutritional environment and early life stress as potential pathways towards the metabolic syndrome in mid-life? A lifecourse analysis using the 1958 British Birth cohort.

PubMed

Delpierre, C; Fantin, R; Barboza-Solis, C; Lepage, B; Darnaudéry, M; Kelly-Irving, M

2016-08-18

Lifecourse studies suggest that the metabolic syndrome (MetS) may be rooted in the early life environment. This study aims to examine the pathways linking early nutritional and psychosocial exposures and the presence of MetS in midlife. Data are from the National Child Development Study including individuals born during 1 week in 1958 in Great Britain and followed-up until now. MetS was defined based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III classification. Mother's pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was used as a proxy of the early nutritional environment and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) as a proxy for early psychosocial stress. Socioeconomic characteristics, pregnancy and birth conditions were extracted as potential confounders. Adult health behaviors, BMI, socioeconomic environment and psychological state were considered as mediating variables. Multivariate models were performed by including variables sequentially taking a lifecourse approach. 37.5 % of men and 19.8 % of women had MetS. Participants with an obese/overweight mother presented a higher risk of MetS than those whose mother had a normal pre-pregnancy BMI. Men exposed to two ACE or more, and women exposed to one ACE, were more at risk of MetS compared to unexposed individuals. After including confounders and mediators, mother's pre-pregnancy BMI was still associated with MetS in midlife but the association was weakened after including participant's adult BMI. ACE was no longer associated with MetS after including confounders in models. The early nutritional environment, represented by mother's pre-pregnancy BMI, was associated with the risk of MetS in midlife. An important mechanism involves a mother-to-child BMI transmission, independent of birth or perinatal conditions, socioeconomic characteristics and health behaviors over the lifecourse. However this mechanism is not sufficient for explaining the influence of mother's pre-pregnancy BMI which implies the need to further explore other mechanisms in particular the role of genetics and early nutritional environment. ACE is not independently associated with MetS. However, other early life stressful events such as emergency caesarean deliveries and poor socioeconomic status during childhood may contribute as determinants of MetS.
Boldness behavior and stress physiology in a novel urban environment suggest rapid correlated evolutionary adaptation

PubMed Central

Cardoso, Gonçalo C.; Whittaker, Danielle J.; Campbell-Nelson, Samuel; Robertson, Kyle W.; Ketterson, Ellen D.

2012-01-01

Novel or changing environments expose animals to diverse stressors that likely require coordinated hormonal and behavioral adaptations. Predicted adaptations to urban environments include attenuated physiological responses to stressors and bolder exploratory behaviors, but few studies to date have evaluated the impact of urban life on codivergence of these hormonal and behavioral traits in natural systems. Here, we demonstrate rapid adaptive shifts in both stress physiology and correlated boldness behaviors in a songbird, the dark-eyed junco, following its colonization of a novel urban environment. We compared elevation in corticosterone (CORT) in response to handling and flight initiation distances in birds from a recently established urban population in San Diego, California to birds from a nearby wildland population in the species' ancestral montane breeding range. We also measured CORT and exploratory behavior in birds raised from early life in a captive common garden study. We found persistent population differences for both reduced CORT responses and bolder exploratory behavior in birds from the colonist population, as well as significant negative covariation between maximum CORT and exploratory behavior. Although early developmental effects cannot be ruled out, these results suggest contemporary adaptive evolution of correlated hormonal and behavioral traits associated with colonization of an urban habitat. PMID:22936840
Boldness behavior and stress physiology in a novel urban environment suggest rapid correlated evolutionary adaptation.

PubMed

Atwell, Jonathan W; Cardoso, Gonçalo C; Whittaker, Danielle J; Campbell-Nelson, Samuel; Robertson, Kyle W; Ketterson, Ellen D

2012-09-01

Novel or changing environments expose animals to diverse stressors that likely require coordinated hormonal and behavioral adaptations. Predicted adaptations to urban environments include attenuated physiological responses to stressors and bolder exploratory behaviors, but few studies to date have evaluated the impact of urban life on codivergence of these hormonal and behavioral traits in natural systems. Here, we demonstrate rapid adaptive shifts in both stress physiology and correlated boldness behaviors in a songbird, the dark-eyed junco, following its colonization of a novel urban environment. We compared elevation in corticosterone (CORT) in response to handling and flight initiation distances in birds from a recently established urban population in San Diego, California to birds from a nearby wildland population in the species' ancestral montane breeding range. We also measured CORT and exploratory behavior in birds raised from early life in a captive common garden study. We found persistent population differences for both reduced CORT responses and bolder exploratory behavior in birds from the colonist population, as well as significant negative covariation between maximum CORT and exploratory behavior. Although early developmental effects cannot be ruled out, these results suggest contemporary adaptive evolution of correlated hormonal and behavioral traits associated with colonization of an urban habitat.
Balancing High Quality Subject-Matter Instruction with Positive Teacher-Student Relations in the Middle Grades: Effects of Departmentalization, Tracking and Block Scheduling on Learning Environments. Report No. 15.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPartland, James M.

This study tests the general hypothesis that there is no single best way to organize a middle school to meet the variety of needs of early adolescent students. Using data from a sample of 433 schools in the Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment, it examines the effects of self-contained classroom instruction and departmentalization on two…
Early childhood environment related to microbial exposure and the occurrence of atopic disease at school age.

PubMed

de Meer, G; Janssen, N A H; Brunekreef, B

2005-05-01

There is a growing body of evidence that the early childhood environment with respect to day care attendance, older siblings, pet ownership, and early life airway infections may protect from developing atopic disease. Few studies have distinguished between atopic sensitization and symptoms, and none have evaluated independent contributions for all of these different environmental conditions. Examine independent effects on atopic sensitization and symptoms of day care attendance, older siblings, pet ownership, and early infancy's airway disease. A cross-sectional survey among 8-13-year-old school children with complete data for 1555 children. After adjustment for confounders, atopic sensitization occurred less frequently in children that had attended a day care centre (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.55-0.98) or had a cat or dog before 2 years of age (OR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.61-0.99). Having older siblings yielded a nonsignificant trend towards protection (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.70-1.11). For symptoms, there was no relation with having older sibs, day care attendance and pet ownership, although there was a trend towards protection for the combination of atopy and symptoms. In contrast, children with doctors' treated airway disease before age 2, more frequently reported recent symptoms of wheeze, asthma, rhinitis, or dermatitis (all P < 0.05). Early life environmental exposure to day care, or pets may protect against atopic sensitization. Protection against symptoms only occurred if atopic sensitization was present as well.
Persistent carry-over effects of planktonic exposure to ocean acidification in the Olympia oyster.

PubMed

Hettinger, Annaliese; Sanford, Eric; Hill, Tessa M; Russell, Ann D; Sato, Kirk N S; Hoey, Jennifer; Forsch, Margaux; Page, Heather N; Gaylord, Brian

2012-12-01

Predicting impacts of global environmental change is challenging due to the complex life cycles that characterize many terrestrial and aquatic taxa. Different life stages often interact with the physical environment in distinct ways, and a growing body of work suggests that stresses experienced during one life stage can "carry over" to influence subsequent stages. Assessments of population responses to environmental perturbation must therefore consider how effects might propagate across life-history transitions. We investigated consequences of ocean acidification (decreased pH and carbonate saturation) for early life stages of the Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida), a foundation species in estuaries along the Pacific coast of North America. We reared oysters at three levels of seawater pH, including a control (8.0) and two additional levels (7.9 and 7.8). Oysters were cultured through their planktonic larval period to metamorphosis and into early juvenile life. Larvae reared under pH 7.8 exhibited a 15% decrease in larval shell growth rate, and a 7% decrease in shell area at settlement, compared to larvae reared under control conditions. Impacts were even more pronounced a week after settlement, with juveniles that had been reared as larvae under reduced pH exhibiting a 41% decrease in shell growth rate. Importantly, the latter effect arose regardless of the pH level the oysters experienced as juveniles, indicating a strong carry-over effect from the larval phase. Adverse impacts of early exposure to low pH persisted for at least 1.5 months after juveniles were transferred to a common environment. Overall, our results suggest that a stringent focus on a single phase of the life cycle (e.g., one perceived as the "weakest link") may neglect critical impacts that can be transferred across life stages in taxa with complex life histories.
Individual Differences in Sequence Learning Ability and Second Language Acquisition in Early Childhood and Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granena, Gisela

2013-01-01

Language aptitude has been hypothesized as a factor that can compensate for postcritical period effects in language learning capacity. However, previous research has primarily focused on instructed contexts and rarely on acquisition-rich learning environments where there is a potential for massive amounts of input. In addition, the studies…
Effect of Maternal Expectations on Early Infant Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brazelton, T. Berry

Parents are prepared for their roles with the new infant during pregnancy, the anxiety and turmoil serving as a source of energy for reorienting them to their new roles. The individuality of the neonate then shapes their responses to him and essentially creates an environment which is suitable to his particular needs. Rather than being at the…

Exploring the Effect of Embedded Scaffolding within Curricular Tasks on Third-Grade Students' Model-Based Explanations about Hydrologic Cycling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.; Schwarz, Christina V.

2015-01-01

Opportunities to generate model-based explanations are crucial for elementary students, yet are rarely foregrounded in elementary science learning environments despite evidence that early learners can reason from models when provided with scaffolding. We used a quasi-experimental research design to investigate the comparative impact of a scaffold…
Vegetation treatments and hydrologic responses at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire

Treesearch

John L. Campbell; Amey S. Bailey; Christopher Eagar; Mark B. Green; John J. Battles

2013-01-01

By the late 19th and early 20th century, extensive forest harvesting was occurring throughout the United States, often with little regard for natural resources. The effects of logging on the environment were relatively unknown, which contributed to rising environmental concerns. Relationships between forests and stream water yield were of particular interest, because...
The Importance of Quality of Care: Effects of Perinatal HIV Infection and Early Institutional Rearing on Preschoolers' Attachment and Indiscriminate Friendliness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobrova-Krol, Natasha A.; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J.; Van IJzendoorn, Marinus H.; Juffer, Femmie

2010-01-01

Background: The rearing environment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children is often compromised, putting these children at additional risks. Positive caregiving may ameliorate the impact of adverse circumstances and promote attachment security. The goal of the present study was to examine the attachment relationships of…
Internet-Based Intervention Training for Parents of Young Children with Disabilities: A Promising Service-Delivery Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meadan, Hedda; Daczewitz, Marcus E.

2015-01-01

Efficient early intervention (EI) services are required to serve the needs of young children with disabilities and the needs of their families. Effective EI includes family-centred practices, evidence-based interventions, parent involvement/training, and delivery in children's natural environments. Due to the challenges of providing…
People, Places, and Environments: Social Studies and Spanish Cultural Enrichment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helms, Ronald G.; Ankenbauer, Mary

2009-01-01

If the young people are to become effective participants in a democratic society, then social studies must be an essential part of the curriculum in the early childhood/elementary years. In a world that demands independent and cooperative problem solving to address complex social, economic, ethical, and personal concerns, the social studies are as…
Finance and Effectiveness: A Study of College Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Richard E.

Results of a study of financial conditions and the functioning of 93 U.S. colleges and universities are presented. Institutional data were collected every third year between 1967-1968 and 1979-1980. Samples of faculty at each institution were surveyed in the late 1960s or early 1970s and again in 1980-1981. The Educational Testing Service's…
Exploring the Acceptability of Innovative Technology: A Pilot Study Using LENA with Parents of Young Deaf Children in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Sarah; Crawford, Paul; Mulla, Imran

2017-01-01

Early intervention is widely recommended for children at risk of difficulties with speech, language and communication. Evidence for effective practice remains limited due in part to inherent difficulties in defining complex interventions and measuring change. The innovative Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system has exciting potential for…
Exogenous determinants of early-life conditions, and mortality later in life.

PubMed

van den Berg, Gerard J; Doblhammer, Gabriele; Christensen, Kaare

2009-05-01

We analyze causal effects of conditions early in life on the individual mortality rate later in life. Conditions early in life are captured by transitory features of the macro-environment around birth, notably the state of the business cycle around birth, but also food price deviations, weather indicators, and demographic indicators. We argue that these features can only affect high-age mortality by way of the individual early-life conditions. Moreover, they are exogenous from the individual point of view, which is a methodological advantage compared to the use of unique characteristics of the newborn individual or his or her family or household as early-life indicators. We collected national annual time-series data on the above-mentioned indicators, and we combine these to the individual data records from the Danish Twin Registry covering births in 1873-1906. The empirical analyses (mostly based on the estimation of duration models) indicate a significant negative causal effect of economic conditions early in life on individual mortality rates at higher ages. If the national economic performance in the year of birth exceeds its trend value (i.e., if the business cycle is favorable) then the mortality rate later in life is lower. The implied effect on the median lifetime of those who survive until age 35 is about 10 months. A systematic empirical exploration of all macro-indicators reveals that economic conditions in the first years after birth also affect mortality rates later in life.
Are infants differentially sensitive to parenting? Early maternal care, DRD4 genotype and externalizing behavior during adolescence.

PubMed

Nikitopoulos, Jörg; Zohsel, Katrin; Blomeyer, Dorothea; Buchmann, Arlette F; Schmid, Brigitte; Jennen-Steinmetz, Christine; Becker, Katja; Schmidt, Martin H; Esser, Günter; Brandeis, Daniel; Banaschewski, Tobias; Laucht, Manfred

2014-12-01

Insensitive and unresponsive caregiving during infancy has been linked to externalizing behavior problems during childhood and adolescence. The 7-repeat (7r) allele of the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) gene has meta-analytically been associated with a heightened susceptibility to adverse as well as supportive environments. In the present study, we examined long-term effects of early maternal care, DRD4 genotype and the interaction thereof on externalizing and internalizing psychopathology during adolescence. As part of an ongoing epidemiological cohort study, early maternal care was assessed at child's age 3 months during a nursing and playing situation. In a sample of 296 offspring, externalizing and internalizing symptoms were assessed using a psychiatric interview conducted at age 15 years. Parents additionally filled out a questionnaire on their children's psychopathic behaviors. Results indicated that adolescents with the DRD4 7r allele who experienced less responsive and stimulating early maternal care exhibited more symptoms of ADHD and CD/ODD as well as higher levels of psychopathic behavior. In accordance with the hypothesis of differential susceptibility, 7r allele carriers showed fewer ADHD symptoms and lower levels of psychopathic behavior when exposed to especially beneficial early caregiving. In contrast, individuals without the DRD4 7r allele proved to be insensitive to the effects of early maternal care. This study replicates earlier findings with regard to an interaction between DRD4 genotype and early caregiving on externalizing behavior problems in preschoolers. It is the first one to imply continuity of this effect until adolescence. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Positive work environments of early-career registered nurses and the correlation with physician verbal abuse.

PubMed

Brewer, Carol S; Kovner, Christine T; Obeidat, Rana F; Budin, Wendy C

2013-01-01

Verbal abuse in the workplace is experienced by registered nurses (RNs) worldwide; physicians are one of the main sources of verbal abuse. To examine the relationship between levels of physician verbal abuse of early-career RNs and demographics, work attributes, and perceived work environment. Fourth wave of a mailed national panel survey of early career RNs begun in 2006. RNs' perception of verbal abuse by physicians was significantly associated with poor workgroup cohesion, lower supervisory and mentor support, greater quantitative workload, organizational constraints, and nurse-colleague verbal abuse, as well as RNs' lower job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intent to stay. RNs working in unfavorable work environments experience more physician abuse and have less favorable work attitudes. Causality is unclear: do poor working conditions create an environment in which physicians are more likely to be abusive, or does verbal abuse by physicians create an unfavorable work environment? Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Assessing the Quality of Early Years Learning Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Glenda; Gardner, John

2005-01-01

This article describes a means of evaluating early years classrooms from the perspective of the child's experience. Nine key themes, such as motivation and independence, are identified as representing significant aspects of a high-quality environment for learning. The manner in which these manifest themselves in relation to the three elements of…
Age-Related Differences in the Relation between the Home Numeracy Environment and Numeracy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Rebecca J.; Napoli, Amy R.; Purpura, David J.

2017-01-01

The home numeracy environment (HNE) is often predictive of children's early mathematics skills, though the findings are mixed. Overall, research on kindergarten-aged children demonstrates a relation between the HNE and early numeracy skills, whereas findings for preschool-aged children are more equivocal. One potential reason for equivocality of…
Using Print in the Environment to Promote Early Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerde, Hope K.; Goetsch, Megan E.; Bingham, Gary E.

2016-01-01

Print in the environment is typically posted in early childhood classrooms. However, the print that exists is often not meaningful to children, and teachers rarely engage children in using the print. This is a missed opportunity to support children's writing. This article presents research-based ideas for engaging children with meaningful print in…
Social Constructions of Young Children in "Special", "Inclusive" and Home Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nind, Melanie; Flewitt, Rosie; Payler, Jane

2011-01-01

The paper tells of the social constructs surrounding young children with learning difficulties in their home, "special" early education setting and "inclusive" or mainstream early education setting in England. The exploratory study focused on how three- to four-year-old children made sense of their environments and how their…
Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: Influences of the Family Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mensah, Fiona K.; Kiernan, Kathleen E.

2010-01-01

There are gender differences in educational attainment amongst British children and there is evidence that these differences emerge early in life. In this study we investigate whether boys' and girls' early educational attainment levels are similarly related to disadvantage in the family environment. This study uses survey data from the Millennium…
Studies of volatiles and organic materials in early terrestrial and present-day outer solar system environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sagan, Carl; Thompson, W. Reid; Chyba, Christopher F.; Khare, B. N.

1991-01-01

A review and partial summary of projects within several areas of research generally involving the origin, distribution, chemistry, and spectral/dielectric properties of volatiles and organic materials in the outer solar system and early terrestrial environments are presented. The major topics covered include: (1) impact delivery of volatiles and organic compounds to the early terrestrial planets; (2) optical constants measurements; (3) spectral classification, chemical processes, and distribution of materials; and (4) radar properties of ice, hydrocarbons, and organic heteropolymers.
Early deprivation disruption of associative learning is a developmental pathway to depression and social problems.

PubMed

Sheridan, Margaret A; McLaughlin, Katie A; Winter, Warren; Fox, Nathan; Zeanah, Charles; Nelson, Charles A

2018-06-07

Exposure to psychosocial deprivation is associated with elevations in numerous forms of impairment throughout the life-course. Disruptions in associative learning may be a key mechanism through which adversity, particularly psychosocial deprivation, increases risk for impairment. Existing data consistent with this claim come entirely from correlational studies. Here, we present the first experimental evidence relating psychosocial deprivation and disruptions in multiple forms of associative learning. Using data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, we demonstrate that randomized placement into a family caregiving environment during the infant/toddler period as compared to prolonged institutional care normalizes two forms of associative learning in early adolescence: reward responsivity and implicit motor learning. These forms of associative learning significantly mediate the effect of institutional rearing on depressive symptoms and peer relationships. In sum, we provide evidence for a novel pathway linking early experience to psychopathology and peer relationships through basic associative learning mechanisms.
Separating parental environment from seed size effects on next generation growth and development in Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Elwell, Angela L; Gronwall, David S; Miller, Nathan D; Spalding, Edgar P; Brooks, Tessa L Durham

2011-02-01

Plant growth and development is profoundly influenced by environmental conditions that laboratory experimentation typically attempts to control. However, growth conditions are not uniform between or even within laboratories and the extent to which these differences influence plant growth and development is unknown. Experiments with wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana were designed to quantify the influences of parental environment and seed size on growth and development in the next generation. A single lot of seed was planted in six environmental chambers and grown to maturity. The seed produced was mechanically sieved into small and large size classes then grown in a common environment and subjected to a set of assays spanning the life cycle. Analysis of variance demonstrated that seed size effects were particularly significant early in development, affecting primary root growth and gravitropism, but also flowering time. Parental environment affected progeny germination time, flowering and weight of seed the progeny produced. In some cases, the parental environment affected the magnitude of (interacted with) the observed seed size effects. These data indicate that life history circumstances of the parental generation can affect growth and development throughout the life cycle of the next generation to an extent that should be considered when performing genetic studies. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
[Risk factors in the living environment of early spontaneous abortion pregnant women].

PubMed

Liu, Xin-yan; Bian, Xu-ming; Han, Jing-xiu; Cao, Zhao-jin; Fan, Guang-sheng; Zhang, Chao; Zhang, Wen-li; Zhang, Shu-zhen; Sun, Xiao-guang

2007-10-01

To study the relationship between early spontaneous abortion and living environment, and explore the risk factors of spontaneous abortion. We conducted analysis based on the interview of 200 spontaneous abortion cases and the matched control (age +/- 2 years) by using multifactor Logistic regression analysis. The proportions of watching TV > or =10 hours/week, operating computer > or =45 hours/week, using copycat, microwave oven and mobile phone, electromagnetism equipment near the dwell or work place, e. g. switch room < or =50 m and launching tower < or =500 m in the cases are significantly higher than those in the controls in single factor analysis (all P < 0.05). After adjusted the effect of other risk factors by multifactor analysis, using microwave oven and mobile phone, contacting abnormal smell of fitment material > or =3 months, having emotional stress during the first term of pregnancy and spontaneous abortion history were significantly associated with risk of spontaneous abortion. The odds ratios of these risk factors were 2.23 and 4.63, respectively. Using microwave oven and mobile phone, contacting abnormal smell of fitment material > or =3 months, having emotional stress during the first term of pregnancy, and spontaneous abortion history are risk factors of early spontaneous abortion.
The development of a treatment-research project for developmentally disabled and autistic children.

PubMed Central

Lovaas, O I

1993-01-01

This paper describes the development and main results over the last 30 years from the treatment-research project with developmentally disabled (autistic) children in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Three important dimensions in treatment research are addressed. The first pertains to the role of serendipity or accidental discoveries, the second to the importance of pursuing inductive rather than theory-driven research, and the third to the importance of adding in a cumulative and step-wise manner to improve treatment adequacy. Data from various areas of treatment research have been used to illustrate new directions for the project. These illustrations center on early and successful attempts to isolate experimentally the environmental variables that control self-injury, failure to observe response and stimulus generalization with subsequent loss of treatment gains, and the main results of intensive and early behavioral intervention in the child's natural environment. Effective treatment for severe behavioral disorders is seen to require early intervention carried out during all or most of the child's waking hours, addressing all significant behaviors in all of the child's environments, by all significant persons, for many years. PMID:8307839

MAOA, childhood maltreatment and antisocial behavior: Meta-analysis of a gene-environment interaction

PubMed Central

Byrd, Amy L.; Manuck, Stephen B.

2013-01-01

Background In a seminal study of gene-environment interaction, childhood maltreatment predicted antisocial behavior more strongly in males carrying an MAOA promoter variant of lesser, compared to higher, transcriptional efficiency. Many further investigations have been reported, including studies of other early environmental exposures and females. Here we report a meta-analysis of studies testing the interaction of MAOA genotype and childhood adversities on antisocial outcomes in predominantly non-clinical samples. Method Included were 27 peer-reviewed, English-language studies published through August, 2012, that contained indicators of maltreatment or “other” family (e.g., parenting, sociodemographic) hardships; MAOA genotype; indices of aggressive and antisocial behavior; and statistical test of genotype-environment interaction. Studies of forensic and exclusively clinical samples, clinical cohorts lacking proportionally matched controls, or outcomes non-specific for antisocial behavior were excluded. The Liptak-Stouffer weighted Z-test for meta-analysis was implemented to maximize study inclusion and calculated separately for male and female cohorts. Results Across 20 male cohorts, early adversity presaged antisocial outcomes more strongly for low, relative to high, activity MAOA genotype (P=.0044). Stratified analyses showed the interaction specific to maltreatment (P=.0000008) and robust to several sensitivity analyses. Across 11 female cohorts, MAOA did not interact with combined early life adversities, whereas maltreatment alone predicted antisocial behaviors preferentially, but weakly, in females of high activity MAOA genotype (P=.02). Conclusions We found common regulatory variation in MAOA to moderate effects of childhood maltreatment on male antisocial behaviors, confirming a sentinel finding in research on gene-environment interaction. An analogous, but less consistent, finding in females warrants further investigation. PMID:23786983
MAOA, childhood maltreatment, and antisocial behavior: meta-analysis of a gene-environment interaction.

PubMed

Byrd, Amy L; Manuck, Stephen B

2014-01-01

In a seminal study of gene-environment interaction, childhood maltreatment predicted antisocial behavior more strongly in male subjects carrying an MAOA promoter variant of lesser, compared with higher, transcriptional efficiency. Many further investigations have been reported, including studies of other early environmental exposures and female subjects. Here, we report a meta-analysis of studies testing the interaction of MAOA genotype and childhood adversities on antisocial outcomes in predominantly nonclinical samples. Included were 27 peer-reviewed, English-language studies published through August, 2012, that contained indicators of maltreatment or other family (e.g., parenting, sociodemographic) hardships; MAOA genotype; indices of aggressive and antisocial behavior; and statistical test of genotype-environment interaction. Studies of forensic and exclusively clinical samples, clinical cohorts lacking proportionally matched control subjects, or outcomes nonspecific for antisocial behavior were excluded. The Liptak-Stouffer weighted Z-test for meta-analysis was implemented to maximize study inclusion and calculated separately for male and female cohorts. Across 20 male cohorts, early adversity presaged antisocial outcomes more strongly for low-activity, relative to high- activity, MAOA genotype (p = .0044). Stratified analyses showed the interaction specific to maltreatment (p = .00000082) and robust to several sensitivity analyses. Across 11 female cohorts, MAOA did not interact with combined early life adversities, whereas maltreatment alone predicted antisocial behaviors preferentially, but weakly, in female subjects of high-activity MAOA genotype (p = .02). We found common regulatory variation in MAOA to moderate effects of childhood maltreatment on male antisocial behaviors, confirming a sentinel finding in research on gene-environment interaction. An analogous, but less consistent, finding in female subjects warrants further investigation. Copyright © 2014 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Endocrine Disruptors and the Breast: Early Life Effects and Later Life Disease

PubMed Central

Macon, Madisa B.

2013-01-01

Breast cancer risk has both heritable and environment/lifestyle components. The heritable component is a small contribution (5–27 %), leaving the majority of risk to environment (e.g., applied chemicals, food residues, occupational hazards, pharmaceuticals, stress) and lifestyle (e.g., physical activity, cosmetics, water source, alcohol, smoking). However, these factors are not well-defined, primarily due to the enormous number of factors to be considered. In both humans and rodent models, environmental factors that act as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been shown to disrupt normal mammary development and lead to adverse lifelong consequences, especially when exposures occur during early life. EDCs can act directly or indirectly on mammary tissue to increase sensitivity to chemical carcinogens or enhance development of hyperplasia, beaded ducts, or tumors. Protective effects have also been reported. The mechanisms for these changes are not well understood. Environmental agents may also act as carcinogens in adult rodent models, directly causing or promoting tumor development, typically in more than one organ. Many of the environmental agents that act as EDCs and are known to affect the breast are discussed. Understanding the mechanism(s) of action for these compounds will be critical to prevent their effects on the breast in the future. PMID:23417729
Endocrine disruptors and the breast: early life effects and later life disease.

PubMed

Macon, Madisa B; Fenton, Suzanne E

2013-03-01

Breast cancer risk has both heritable and environment/lifestyle components. The heritable component is a small contribution (5-27 %), leaving the majority of risk to environment (e.g., applied chemicals, food residues, occupational hazards, pharmaceuticals, stress) and lifestyle (e.g., physical activity, cosmetics, water source, alcohol, smoking). However, these factors are not well-defined, primarily due to the enormous number of factors to be considered. In both humans and rodent models, environmental factors that act as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been shown to disrupt normal mammary development and lead to adverse lifelong consequences, especially when exposures occur during early life. EDCs can act directly or indirectly on mammary tissue to increase sensitivity to chemical carcinogens or enhance development of hyperplasia, beaded ducts, or tumors. Protective effects have also been reported. The mechanisms for these changes are not well understood. Environmental agents may also act as carcinogens in adult rodent models, directly causing or promoting tumor development, typically in more than one organ. Many of the environmental agents that act as EDCs and are known to affect the breast are discussed. Understanding the mechanism(s) of action for these compounds will be critical to prevent their effects on the breast in the future.
Cognitive impulsivity and the development of delinquency from late childhood to early adulthood: Moderating effects of parenting behavior and peer relationships.

PubMed

Menting, Barbara; Van Lier, Pol A C; Koot, Hans M; Pardini, Dustin; Loeber, Rolf

2016-02-01

Cognitive impulsivity may increase children's risk of developing delinquent behavior. However, the influence of cognitive impulsivity may depend on social environmental risk factors. This study examined the moderating effect of late childhood parenting behaviors and peer relations on the influence of children's cognitive impulsivity on delinquency development across adolescence and early adulthood, while taking possible interactions with intelligence also into account. Delinquent behavior of 412 boys from the Pittsburgh Youth Study was measured annually from ages 13 to 29 years with official arrest records. Cognitive impulsivity (neurocognitive test scores) and intelligence were assessed at age 12-13. Parenting behaviors (persistence of discipline, positive reinforcement, and parental knowledge), peer delinquency, and peer conventional activities were assessed between ages 10 and 13 years. Results showed that, while controlling for intelligence, the influence of youths' cognitive impulsivity on delinquency depended on their parents' behaviors. An interaction was found among cognitive impulsivity, intelligence, and peer delinquency, but instead of cognitive impulsivity, the effect of intelligence on delinquency was particularly moderated. Overall, findings suggest that when there was moderation, high cognitive impulsivity and low intelligence were associated with an increased probability for engaging in delinquency predominantly among boys in a good social environment, but not in a poor social environment.
Can reactivity to stress and family environment explain memory and executive function performance in early and middle childhood?

PubMed

Piccolo, Luciane da Rosa; Salles, Jerusa Fumagalli de; Falceto, Olga Garcia; Fernandes, Carmen Luiza; Grassi-Oliveira, Rodrigo

2016-01-01

According to the literature, children's overall reactivity to stress is associated with their socioeconomic status and family environment. In turn, it has been shown that reactivity to stress is associated with cognitive performance. However, few studies have systematically tested these three constructs together. To investigate the relationship between family environment, salivary cortisol measurements and children's memory and executive function performance. Salivary cortisol levels of 70 children aged 9 or 10 years were measured before and after performing tasks designed to assess memory and executive functions. Questionnaires on socioeconomic issues, family environment and maternal psychopathologies were administered to participants' families during the children's early childhood and again when they reached school age. Data were analyzed by calculating correlations between variables and conducting hierarchical regression. High cortisol levels were associated with poorer working memory and worse performance in tasks involving executive functions, and were also associated with high scores for maternal psychopathology (during early childhood and school age) and family dysfunction. Family environment variables and changes in cortisol levels explain around 20% of the variance in performance of cognitive tasks. Family functioning and maternal psychopathology in early and middle childhood and children's stress levels were associated with children's working memory and executive functioning.
Mitigating the Effects of Family Poverty on Early Child Development through Parenting Interventions in Primary Care.

PubMed

Cates, Carolyn Brockmeyer; Weisleder, Adriana; Mendelsohn, Alan L

2016-04-01

Poverty related disparities in early child development and school readiness are a major public health crisis, the prevention of which has emerged in recent years as a national priority. Interventions targeting parenting and the quality of the early home language environment are at the forefront of efforts to address these disparities. In this article we discuss the innovative use of the pediatric primary care platform as part of a comprehensive public health strategy to prevent adverse child development outcomes through the promotion of parenting. Models of interventions in the pediatric primary care setting are discussed with evidence of effectiveness reviewed. Taken together, a review of this significant body of work shows the tremendous potential to deliver evidence-based preventive interventions to families at risk for poverty related disparities in child development and school readiness at the time of pediatric primary care visits. We also addresss considerations related to scaling and maximizing the effect of pediatric primary care parenting interventions and provide key policy recommendations. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Nanometer-scale features in dolomite from Pennsylvanian rocks, Paradox Basin, Utah

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gournay, Jonas P.; Kirkland, Brenda L.; Folk, Robert L.; Lynch, F. Leo

1999-07-01

Scanning electron microscopy reveals an association between early dolomite in the Pennsylvanian Desert Creek (Paradox Fm.) and small (approximately 0.1 μm) nanometer-scale textures, termed `nannobacteria'. Three diagenetically distinct dolomites are present: early dolomite, limpid dolomite, and baroque dolomite. In this study, only the early dolomite contained nanometer-scale features. These textures occur as discrete balls and rods, clumps of balls, and chains of balls. Precipitation experiments demonstrate that these textures may be the result of precipitation in an organic-rich micro-environment. The presence of these nanometer-scale textures in Pennsylvanian rocks suggests that these early dolomites precipitated in organic-rich, bacterial environments.
The Coevolution of Life and Environment on Mars: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Robotic Exploration of Biosignatures.

PubMed

Cabrol, Nathalie A

2018-01-01

Earth's biological and environmental evolution are intertwined and inseparable. This coevolution has become a fundamental concept in astrobiology and is key to the search for life beyond our planet. In the case of Mars, whether a coevolution took place is unknown, but analyzing the factors at play shows the uniqueness of each planetary experiment regardless of similarities. Early Earth and early Mars shared traits. However, biological processes on Mars, if any, would have had to proceed within the distinctive context of an irreversible atmospheric collapse, greater climate variability, and specific planetary characteristics. In that, Mars is an important test bed for comparing the effects of a unique set of spatiotemporal changes on an Earth-like, yet different, planet. Many questions remain unanswered about Mars' early environment. Nevertheless, existing data sets provide a foundation for an intellectual framework where notional coevolution models can be explored. In this framework, the focus is shifted from planetary-scale habitability to the prospect of habitats, microbial ecotones, pathways to biological dispersal, biomass repositories, and their meaning for exploration. Critically, as we search for biosignatures, this focus demonstrates the importance of starting to think of early Mars as a biosphere and vigorously integrating an ecosystem approach to landing site selection and exploration. Key Words: Astrobiology-Biosignatures-Coevolution of Earth and life-Mars. Astrobiology 18, 1-27.
The Coevolution of Life and Environment on Mars: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Robotic Exploration of Biosignatures

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Abstract Earth's biological and environmental evolution are intertwined and inseparable. This coevolution has become a fundamental concept in astrobiology and is key to the search for life beyond our planet. In the case of Mars, whether a coevolution took place is unknown, but analyzing the factors at play shows the uniqueness of each planetary experiment regardless of similarities. Early Earth and early Mars shared traits. However, biological processes on Mars, if any, would have had to proceed within the distinctive context of an irreversible atmospheric collapse, greater climate variability, and specific planetary characteristics. In that, Mars is an important test bed for comparing the effects of a unique set of spatiotemporal changes on an Earth-like, yet different, planet. Many questions remain unanswered about Mars' early environment. Nevertheless, existing data sets provide a foundation for an intellectual framework where notional coevolution models can be explored. In this framework, the focus is shifted from planetary-scale habitability to the prospect of habitats, microbial ecotones, pathways to biological dispersal, biomass repositories, and their meaning for exploration. Critically, as we search for biosignatures, this focus demonstrates the importance of starting to think of early Mars as a biosphere and vigorously integrating an ecosystem approach to landing site selection and exploration. Key Words: Astrobiology—Biosignatures—Coevolution of Earth and life—Mars. Astrobiology 18, 1–27. PMID:29252008
Natural environment and thermal behaviour of Dimetrodon limbatus.

PubMed

Florides; Kalogirou; Tassou; Wrobel

2001-02-01

This paper examines the body temperature variation of Dimetrodon during the different seasons of the year. The effect of the sail of Dimetrodon on its body temperature is also evaluated. It is shown that the sail of pelycosaurs provided an advantage to the reptile by warming it up quicker in the morning in cold environments. This would be a benefit, allowing Dimetrodon to prey on large reptiles, above 55kg, in the early morning while they were sluggish. From the results presented a climate similar to that of March for Cyprus could be representative of that of Permian period.
Collaboration in academic medicine: reflections on gender and advancement.

PubMed

Carr, Phyllis L; Pololi, Linda; Knight, Sharon; Conrad, Peter

2009-10-01

Collaboration in academic medicine is encouraged, yet no one has studied the environment in which faculty collaborate. The authors investigated how faculty experienced collaboration and the institutional atmosphere for collaboration. In 2007, as part of a qualitative study of faculty in five disparate U.S. medical schools, the authors interviewed 96 medical faculty at different career stages and in diverse specialties, with an oversampling of women, minorities, and generalists, regarding their perceptions and experiences of collaboration in academic medicine. Data analysis was inductive and driven by the grounded theory tradition. Female faculty expressed enthusiasm about the potential and process of collaboration; male faculty were more likely to focus on outcomes. Senior faculty experienced a more collaborative environment than early career faculty, who faced numerous barriers to collaboration: the hierarchy of medical academe, advancement criteria, and the lack of infrastructure supportive of collaboration. Research faculty appreciated shared ideas, knowledge, resources, and the increased productivity that could result from collaboration, but they were acutely aware that advancement requires an independent body of work, which was a major deterrent to collaboration among early career faculty. Academic medicine faculty have differing views on the impact and benefits of collaboration. Early career faculty face concerning obstacles to collaboration. Female faculty seemed more appreciative of the process of collaboration, which may be of importance for transitioning to a more collaborative academic environment. A reevaluation of effective benchmarks for promotion of faculty is warranted to address the often exclusive reliance on individualistic achievement.
A life history approach to delineating how harsh environments and hawk temperament traits differentially shape children's problem-solving skills.

PubMed

Suor, Jennifer H; Sturge-Apple, Melissa L; Davies, Patrick T; Cicchetti, Dante

2017-08-01

Harsh environments are known to predict deficits in children's cognitive abilities. Life history theory approaches challenge this interpretation, proposing stressed children's cognition becomes specialized to solve problems in fitness-enhancing ways. The goal of this study was to examine associations between early environmental harshness and children's problem-solving outcomes across tasks varying in ecological relevance. In addition, we utilize an evolutionary model of temperament toward further specifying whether hawk temperament traits moderate these associations. Two hundred and one mother-child dyads participated in a prospective multimethod study when children were 2 and 4 years old. At age 2, environmental harshness was assessed via maternal report of earned income and observations of maternal disengagement during a parent-child interaction task. Children's hawk temperament traits were assessed from a series of unfamiliar episodes. At age 4, children's reward-oriented and visual problem-solving were measured. Path analyses revealed early environmental harshness and children's hawk temperament traits predicted worse visual problem-solving. Results showed a significant two-way interaction between children's hawk temperament traits and environmental harshness on reward-oriented problem-solving. Simple slope analyses revealed the effect of environmental harshness on reward-oriented problem-solving was specific to children with higher levels of hawk traits. Results suggest early experiences of environmental harshness and child hawk temperament traits shape children's trajectories of problem-solving in an environment-fitting manner. © 2017 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Antibiotic Use in Early Life, Rural Residence, and Allergic Diseases in Argentinean Children.

PubMed

Han, Yueh-Ying; Forno, Erick; Badellino, Héctor A; Celedón, Juan C

Little is known about differential effects of antibiotic use on allergic diseases in rural versus urban environments. To examine whether area of residence in the first year of life modifies the relation between antibiotic use in early life and allergic diseases during childhood. Cross-sectional study of allergic diseases in 1517 children (ages 6-7 years) attending 101 schools in urban and rural areas of San Francisco (Córdoba, Argentina). Current asthma, wheeze, and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis were defined on the basis of responses to a validated questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. Multivariate logistic regression was used for the analysis of antibiotic use and allergic diseases. After adjustment for paracetamol use, bronchiolitis, and other covariates, antibiotic use in the first year of life was associated with increased odds of current wheeze (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; 95% CI, 1.3-2.6) and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3-2.7). After stratification by area of residence, antibiotic use was associated with current wheeze (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.5-4.0) and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.3-3.4) among children who lived in an urban area in their first year of life, but not among those who lived in a rural area in their first year of life. Early-life antibiotic use is associated with current wheeze and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in Argentinean children who lived in urban areas during their first year of life. Exposure to a rural environment early in life may protect against the adverse effects of antibiotics on atopic diseases in children. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Long-Term Evolution of the Sun and our Biosphere: Causes and Effects?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Des Marais, D. J.

2000-05-01

The course of early biological evolution felt the environmental consequences of changes in the solar output (discussed here), as well as long-term decreases in planetary heat flow and the flux of extraterrestrial impactors. A large, early UV flux fueled the photodissociation of atmospheric water vapor, sustaining a significant hydrogen flux to space. This flux caused Earth's crust to become oxidized, relative to its mantle. Accordingly, reduced gases and aqueous solutes that were erupted volcanically into the relatively more oxidized surface environment created sources of chemical redox energy for the origin and early evolution of life. Although the solar constant has increased some 30 percent over Earth's lifetime, oceans remained remarkably stable for more than 3.8 billion years. Thus a very effective climate regulation was probably achieved by decreasing over time the atmospheric inventories of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Such decreases probably had major consequences for the biosphere. Substantial early marine bicarbonate and carbon dioxide inventories sustained abundant abiotic precipitation of carbonates, with consequences for the stability and habitability of key aqueous environments. A long-term decline in carbon dioxide levels increased the bioenergetic requirements for carbon dioxide as well as other aspects of the physiology of photosynthetic microorganisms. The long-term trend of global mean surface temperature is still debated, as is the role of the sun's evolution in that trend. Future increases in the solar constant will drive atmospheric carbon dioxide levels down further, challenging plants to cope with ever-dwindling concentrations of carbon substrates. Climate regulation will be achieved by modulating an increasing abundance of high-albedo water vapor clouds. Future biological evolution defies precise predictions, however it is certain that the sun's continuing evolution will play a key role.
Interactive Sound Propagation using Precomputation and Statistical Approximations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antani, Lakulish

Acoustic phenomena such as early reflections, diffraction, and reverberation have been shown to improve the user experience in interactive virtual environments and video games. These effects arise due to repeated interactions between sound waves and objects in the environment. In interactive applications, these effects must be simulated within a prescribed time budget. We present two complementary approaches for computing such acoustic effects in real time, with plausible variation in the sound field throughout the scene. The first approach, Precomputed Acoustic Radiance Transfer, precomputes a matrix that accounts for multiple acoustic interactions between all scene objects. The matrix is used at run time to provide sound propagation effects that vary smoothly as sources and listeners move. The second approach couples two techniques---Ambient Reverberance, and Aural Proxies---to provide approximate sound propagation effects in real time, based on only the portion of the environment immediately visible to the listener. These approaches lie at different ends of a space of interactive sound propagation techniques for modeling sound propagation effects in interactive applications. The first approach emphasizes accuracy by modeling acoustic interactions between all parts of the scene; the second approach emphasizes efficiency by only taking the local environment of the listener into account. These methods have been used to efficiently generate acoustic walkthroughs of architectural models. They have also been integrated into a modern game engine, and can enable realistic, interactive sound propagation on commodity desktop PCs.
Remnants of an ancient forest provide ecological context for Early Miocene fossil apes.

PubMed

Michel, Lauren A; Peppe, Daniel J; Lutz, James A; Driese, Steven G; Dunsworth, Holly M; Harcourt-Smith, William E H; Horner, William H; Lehmann, Thomas; Nightingale, Sheila; McNulty, Kieran P

2014-01-01

The lineage of apes and humans (Hominoidea) evolved and radiated across Afro-Arabia in the early Neogene during a time of global climatic changes and ongoing tectonic processes that formed the East African Rift. These changes probably created highly variable environments and introduced selective pressures influencing the diversification of early apes. However, interpreting the connection between environmental dynamics and adaptive evolution is hampered by difficulties in locating taxa within specific ecological contexts: time-averaged or reworked deposits may not faithfully represent individual palaeohabitats. Here we present multiproxy evidence from Early Miocene deposits on Rusinga Island, Kenya, which directly ties the early ape Proconsul to a widespread, dense, multistoried, closed-canopy tropical seasonal forest set in a warm and relatively wet, local climate. These results underscore the importance of forested environments in the evolution of early apes.
An Evaluation of the Right Choices Program to Determine Effectiveness in Delivering Constructive Interventions and Providing an Early Support Program in Order to Modify Behavior of First-Time Student Offenders Who Commit Drug and Violent Acts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, Lisa B.

2010-01-01

The purpose of the study was to perform a program evaluation of the Right Choices Program to determine the program's effectiveness in delivering constructive interventions that modify student behavior once students have left the program and have returned to their regular learning environment. This mixed-method evaluation consisted of an…
Stressful life events and depressive problems in early adolescent boys and girls: the influence of parental depression, temperament and family environment.

PubMed

Bouma, Esther M C; Ormel, Johan; Verhulst, Frank C; Oldehinkel, Albertine J

2008-01-01

Stressful life events increase the probability of depressive problems in early adolescence. Several genetic and environmental risk factors may change individual sensitivity to the depressogenic effect of these events. We examined modification by parental depression and gender, and mediation of the former by temperament and family environment. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal cohort study of (pre)adolescents (n = 2127). During the first assessment wave at approximately age 11, we assessed parental depression, family functioning, perceived parenting behaviours, and temperamental frustration and fearfulness. At the second wave, about two and a half years later, stressful life events between the first and second assessment were assessed. Depressive problems were measured at both waves. Adolescents with parents who had a (lifetime) depressive episode were more sensitive to the depressogenic effect of stressful events than adolescents without depressed parents. Furthermore, girls are more sensitive to these effects than boys. The modifying effect of parental depression was not mediated by temperament, family functioning and perceived parenting. Life events were assessed without consideration of contextual information. Depressive problems were measured by questionnaires that did not directly represent DSM-IV criteria. The measure of parental depression was unspecific regarding severity and timing of depressive episodes. The results suggest that gender and parental depression are associated with increased sensitivity to depression after experiencing stressful life events during adolescence.
The ontogeny of tolerance curves: habitat quality vs. acclimation in a stressful environment.

PubMed

Nougué, Odrade; Svendsen, Nils; Jabbour-Zahab, Roula; Lenormand, Thomas; Chevin, Luis-Miguel

2016-11-01

Stressful environments affect life-history components of fitness through (i) instantaneous detrimental effects, (ii) historical (carry-over) effects and (iii) history-by-environment interactions, including acclimation effects. The relative contributions of these different responses to environmental stress are likely to change along life, but such ontogenic perspective is often overlooked in studies of tolerance curves, precluding a better understanding of the causes of costs of acclimation, and more generally of fitness in temporally fine-grained environments. We performed an experiment in the brine shrimp Artemia to disentangle these different contributions to environmental tolerance, and investigate how they unfold along life. We placed individuals from three clones of A. parthenogenetica over a range of salinities during a week, before transferring them to a (possibly) different salinity for the rest of their lives. We monitored individual survival at repeated intervals throughout life, instead of measuring survival or performance at a given point in time, as commonly done in acclimation experiments. We then designed a modified survival analysis model to estimate phase-specific hazard rates, accounting for the fact that individuals may share the same treatment for only part of their lives. Our approach allowed us to distinguish effects of salinity on (i) instantaneous mortality in each phase (habitat quality effects), (ii) mortality later in life (history effects) and (iii) their interaction. We showed clear effects of early salinity on late survival and interactions between effects of past and current environments on survival. Importantly, analysis of the ontogenetic dynamics of the tolerance curve reveals that acclimation affects different parts of the curve at different ages. Adopting a dynamical view of the ontogeny of tolerance curve should prove useful for understanding niche limits in temporally changing environments, where the full sequence of environments experienced by an individual determines its overall environmental tolerance, and how it changes throughout life. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.

Monitoring air pollution effects on children for supporting public health policy: the protocol of the prospective cohort MAPEC study.

PubMed

Feretti, D; Ceretti, E; De Donno, A; Moretti, M; Carducci, A; Bonetta, S; Marrese, M R; Bonetti, A; Covolo, L; Bagordo, F; Villarini, M; Verani, M; Schilirò, T; Limina, R M; Grassi, T; Monarca, S; Casini, B; Carraro, E; Zani, C; Mazzoleni, G; Levaggi, R; Gelatti, U

2014-09-16

Genotoxic biomarkers have been studied largely in adult population, but few studies so far have investigated them in children exposed to air pollution. Children are a high-risk group as regards the health effects of air pollution and some studies suggest that early exposure during childhood can play an important role in the development of chronic diseases in adulthood. The objective of the project is to evaluate the associations between the concentration of urban air pollutants and biomarkers of early biological effect in children, and to propose a model for estimating the global risk of early biological effects due to air pollutants and other factors in children. Two biomarkers of early biological effects, DNA damage by the comet assay and the micronuclei (MN) test, will be investigated in oral mucosa cells of 6-8-year-old children. Concurrently, some toxic airborne pollutants (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and nitro-PAH) and in vitro air mutagenicity and toxicity in ultra-fine air particulates (PM0.5) will be evaluated. Furthermore, demographic and socioeconomic variables, other sources of exposures to air pollutants and lifestyle variables will be assessed by a structured questionnaire. The associations between sociodemographic, environmental and other exposure variables and biomarkers of early biological effect using univariate and multivariate models will be analysed. A tentative model for calculating the global absolute risk of having early biological effects caused by air pollution and other variables will be proposed. The project has been approved by the Ethics Committees of the local Health Authorities. The results will be communicated to local Public Health Agencies, for supporting educational programmes and health policy strategies. LIFE+2012 Environment Policy and Governance. LIFE12 ENV/IT/000614. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.
Reducing Risk for Substance Use by Economically Disadvantaged Young Men: Positive Family Environments and Pathways to Educational Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Monica J.; Conger, Rand D.; Sitnick, Stephanie L.; Masarik, April S.; Forbes, Erika E.; Shaw, Daniel S.

2015-01-01

Using prospective, longitudinal data spanning 10 years (age = 10-20) from a study of 295 economically disadvantaged males, the current investigation evaluated a developmental model that links early family environment and later educational aspirations, extracurricular activities, and educational attainment to substance use in early adulthood. The…
Early Steps to School Success (ESSS): Examining Pathways Linking Home Visiting and Language Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iruka, Iheoma U.; Brown, Deborah; Jerald, Judith; Blitch, Kimberly

2018-01-01

Background: Improving the home environment and parenting practices to support children's early development and learning is a key focus of many. Home visiting is one potential strategy to improve the home environment and parenting; however, more data about current programmatic efforts is needed, especially for children with multiple risks living in…
Nature and the Outdoor Learning Environment: The Forgotten Resource in Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Allen

2015-01-01

Longitudinal studies now confirm the economic, academic, and social importance of high-quality early childhood education. At the same time, a substantial body of research indicates that an outdoor learning and play environment with diverse natural elements advances and enriches all of the domains relevant to the development, health, and well-being…
Fathers' and Mothers' Home Learning Environments and Children's Early Academic Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Tricia D.; Froyen, Laura C.; Skibbe, Lori E.; Bowles, Ryan P.; Decker, Kalli B.

2016-01-01

The home learning environment (HLE) that children experience early on is highly predictive of their later academic competencies; however, the bulk of this work is operationalized from mothers' perspectives. This study investigates the HLE provided by both mothers and fathers to their preschoolers (n = 767), with consideration for how parents'…
Social Factors in the Development of Early Executive Functioning: A Closer Look at the Caregiving Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernier, Annie; Carlson, Stephanie M.; Deschenes, Marie; Matte-Gagne, Celia

2012-01-01

This study investigated prospective links between quality of the early caregiving environment and children's subsequent executive functioning (EF). Sixty-two families were met on five occasions, allowing for assessment of maternal interactive behavior, paternal interactive behavior, and child attachment security between 1 and 2 years of age, and…
Designs for Living and Learning: Transforming Early Childhood Environments, Second Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Margie; Curtis, Deb

2015-01-01

You likely have dreams for your early childhood environment that are greater than rating scales, regulations, and room arrangements. "Designs for Living and Learning" has been a favorite resource among educators and caregivers for more than a decade, and this new edition is packed with even more ideas that can be used as you create…
An Exploratory Study of the Application of Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale Criteria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warash, Barbara G.; Ward, Corina; Rotilie, Sally

2008-01-01

This study examined whether attending a one day training on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) corresponded to pre-k classroom changes. Teachers attended an ECERS-R module training and six months later completed a questionnaire to report any classroom changes. The questionnaire consisted of listing the subscales and…
Role of Parent Literacy and Numeracy Expectations and Activities in Predicting Early Numeracy Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segers, Eliane; Kleemans, Tijs; Verhoeven, Ludo

2015-01-01

The home numeracy environment (i.e., parents' numeracy expectations and activities), is related to early numeracy in young children. As recent studies have shown that both cognitive and linguistic factors play an important role in predicting numeracy development, it may be assumed that rather than the home "numeracy" environment, the…
Antecedents and sex/gender differences in youth suicidal behavior

PubMed Central

Rhodes, Anne E; Boyle, Michael H; Bridge, Jeffrey A; Sinyor, Mark; Links, Paul S; Tonmyr, Lil; Skinner, Robin; Bethell, Jennifer M; Carlisle, Corine; Goodday, Sarah; Hottes, Travis Salway; Newton, Amanda; Bennett, Kathryn; Sundar, Purnima; Cheung, Amy H; Szatmari, Peter

2014-01-01

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth globally; however, there is uncertainty about how best to intervene. Suicide rates are typically higher in males than females, while the converse is true for suicide attempts. We review this “gender paradox” in youth, and in particular, the age-dependency of these sex/gender differences and the developmental mechanisms that may explain them. Epidemiologic, genetic, neurodevelopmental and psychopathological research have identified suicidal behaviour risks arising from genetic vulnerabilities and sex/gender differences in early adverse environments, neurodevelopment, mental disorder and their complex interconnections. Further, evolving sex-/gender-defined social expectations and norms have been thought to influence suicide risk. In particular, how youth perceive and cope with threats and losses (including conforming to others’ or one’s own expectations of sex/gender identity) and adapt to pain (through substance use and help-seeking behaviours). Taken together, considering brain plasticity over the lifespan, these proposed antecedents to youth suicide highlight the importance of interventions that alter early environment(s) (e.g., childhood maltreatment) and/or one’s ability to adapt to them. Further, such interventions may have more enduring protective effects, for the individual and for future generations, if implemented in youth. PMID:25540727
Long-term effects of peer victimization on social outcomes through the fourth decade of life in individuals born at normal or extremely low birthweight.

PubMed

Day, Kimberly L; Van Lieshout, Ryan J; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Saigal, Saroj; Boyle, Michael H; Schmidt, Louis A

2017-09-01

Exposure to early adversity is known to have deleterious effects on brain-behaviour relations across the lifespan and across a range of domains. Here, we tested a cumulative risk hypothesis of adult social functioning and health outcomes in the fourth decade of life, using the oldest known longitudinally followed cohort of survivors of extremely low birthweight (ELBW; <1,000 g). We investigated the additional impact of peer victimization in youth on social outcomes at age 29-36 years in ELBW survivors and matched normal birthweight (NBW; >2,500 g) participants. In the combined sample, peer victimization was associated with lower likelihood of having children and household income, poorer family functioning and self-esteem, more loneliness and chronic health conditions, less social support, and increased likelihood for contact with police. Moderation analyses indicated that among ELBW survivors, compared to their NBW counterparts, victimization was more strongly associated with being convicted of a crime and with having chronic health conditions. These findings highlight the negative long-term impact of peer victimization on all children and that some outcomes may be differentially affected by prenatal and early post-natal environments. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject Exposure to early adversity has deleterious effects on brain-behaviour relations across the lifespan. Extremely premature children have higher rates of exposure to adversities, including peer victimization. Peer victimization is associated with adverse outcomes in adulthood in those born at term. What does this study add? Victimization negatively impacts the social outcomes of those born extremely premature and at term into adulthood. Associations appear to be affected by individual differences in prenatal and early post-natal environments. Intervention is crucial when peer victimization occurs in children at risk, as well as those typically developing. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.
Ocean Acidification Effects on the Early Life-Stages of Commercially Important Flatfish of the Northeast USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chambers, R. C.; Habeck, E. A.; Candelmo, A. C.; Poach, M.; Wieczorek, D.; Phelan, B.; Caldarone, E.; Cooper, K. R.

2012-12-01

The limited available evidence about effects on finfish of high CO2 levels and acidification of our oceans suggests that effects will differ across fish species, be subtle, and interact with other stressors. A carefully planned, experimental framework was developed to cast an extensive yet strategic inferential net. Three key elements of our approach are the use of 1) multiple marine finfish species of relevance to the northeastern USA that differ in their ecologies including spawning season and habitat of early life-stages; 2) a wide yet realistic range of environmental conditions (i.e., concurrent manipulation of CO2 levels and water temperatures), and 3) a diverse set of response variables related to fish sensitivity to elevated CO2 levels, water temperatures, and their interactions. The response variable set reflects fish condition, fitness, and likelihood of recruitment, and includes measures of viability, physiology, histopathology, growth, development, and behavior expressed during fish early life-stages (i.e., gametes, embryos, and larvae). Early life-stages were chosen due to the anticipation of their vulnerability to acid-base challenges in their environment. To date, factorial experiments have been implemented on summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) and winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). Initial results reveal survival of summer flounder embryos is compromised by pH < 7.7 (CO2 > 790 ppm). These results were similar across offspring groups (i.e., embryos from different parents). Winter flounder are larger at hatching when exposed to high CO2 levels in the coolest environment implemented in our experiments (range 4 to 10 ○C). Further responses of advanced larvae of both flounder species are currently being assessed for evidence of other whole body, component organ, and biochemical impairment. This study will aid researchers and resource managers in identifying species types, life-stages, and biotic responses that are most sensitive to the expected future levels of CO2 and water temperature in our oceans.
Early life nutrition, epigenetics and programming of later life disease.

PubMed

Vickers, Mark H

2014-06-02

The global pandemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes is often causally linked to marked changes in diet and lifestyle; namely marked increases in dietary intakes of high energy diets and concomitant reductions in physical activity levels. However, less attention has been paid to the role of developmental plasticity and alterations in phenotypic outcomes resulting from altered environmental conditions during the early life period. Human and experimental animal studies have highlighted the link between alterations in the early life environment and increased risk of obesity and metabolic disorders in later life. This link is conceptualised as the developmental programming hypothesis whereby environmental influences during critical periods of developmental plasticity can elicit lifelong effects on the health and well-being of the offspring. In particular, the nutritional environment in which the fetus or infant develops influences the risk of metabolic disorders in offspring. The late onset of such diseases in response to earlier transient experiences has led to the suggestion that developmental programming may have an epigenetic component, as epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation or histone tail modifications could provide a persistent memory of earlier nutritional states. Moreover, evidence exists, at least from animal models, that such epigenetic programming should be viewed as a transgenerational phenomenon. However, the mechanisms by which early environmental insults can have long-term effects on offspring are relatively unclear. Thus far, these mechanisms include permanent structural changes to the organ caused by suboptimal levels of an important factor during a critical developmental period, changes in gene expression caused by epigenetic modifications (including DNA methylation, histone modification, and microRNA) and permanent changes in cellular ageing. A better understanding of the epigenetic basis of developmental programming and how these effects may be transmitted across generations is essential for the implementation of initiatives aimed at curbing the current obesity and diabetes crisis.
Developmental social isolation affects adult behavior, social interaction, and dopamine metabolite levels in zebrafish.

PubMed

Shams, Soaleha; Amlani, Shahid; Buske, Christine; Chatterjee, Diptendu; Gerlai, Robert

2018-01-01

The zebrafish is a social vertebrate and an excellent translational model for a variety of human disorders. Abnormal social behavior is a hallmark of several human brain disorders. Social behavioral problems can arise as a result of adverse early social environment. Little is known about the effects of early social isolation in adult zebrafish. We compared zebrafish that were isolated for either short (7 days) or long duration (180 days) to socially housed zebrafish, testing their behavior across ontogenesis (ages 10, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 days), and shoal cohesion and whole-brain monoamines and their metabolites in adulthood. Long social isolation increased locomotion and decreased shoal cohesion and anxiety in the open-field in adult. Additionally, both short and long social isolation reduced dopamine metabolite levels in response to social stimuli. Thus, early social isolation has lasting effects in zebrafish, and may be employed to generate zebrafish models of human neuropsychiatric conditions. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Multigenerational hybridisation and its consequences for maternal effects in Atlantic salmon

PubMed Central

Debes, P V; Fraser, D J; McBride, M C; Hutchings, J A

2013-01-01

Outbreeding between segregating populations can be important from an evolutionary, conservation and economical-agricultural perspective. Whether and how outbreeding influences maternal effects in wild populations has rarely been studied, despite both the prominent maternal influence on early offspring survival and the known presence of fitness effects resulting from outbreeding in many taxa. We studied several traits during the yolk-feeding stage in multigenerational crosses between a wild and a domesticated Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) population up to their third-generation hybrid in a common laboratory environment. Using cross-means analysis, we inferred that maternal additive outbreeding effects underlie most offspring traits but that yolk mass also underlies maternal dominant effects. As a consequence of the interplay between additive and dominant maternally controlled traits, offspring from first-generation hybrid mothers expressed an excessive proportion of residual yolk mass, relative to total mass, at the time of first feeding. Their residual yolk mass was 23–97% greater than those of other crosses and 31% more than that predicted by a purely additive model. Offspring additive, epistatic and epistatic offspring-by-maternal outbreeding effects appeared to further modify this largely maternally controlled cross-means pattern, resulting in an increase in offspring size with the percentage of domesticated alleles. Fitness implications remain elusive because of unknown phenotype-by-environment interactions. However, these results suggest how mechanistically co-adapted genetic maternal control on early offspring development can be disrupted by the effects of combining alleles from divergent populations. Complex outbreeding effects at both the maternal and offspring levels make the prediction of hybrid phenotypes difficult. PMID:23652564
Parenting Supports for Early Vocabulary Development: Specific Effects of Sensitivity and Stimulation through Infancy

PubMed Central

Vallotton, Claire; Mastergeorge, Ann; Foster, Tricia; Decker, Kalli B.; Ayoub, Catherine

2016-01-01

Growing recognition of disparities in early childhood language environments prompt examination of parent-child interactions which support vocabulary. Research links parental sensitivity and cognitive stimulation to child language, but has not explicitly contrasted their effects, nor examined how effects may change over time. We examined maternal sensitivity and stimulation throughout infancy using two observational methods – ratings of parents’ interaction qualities, and coding of discrete parenting behaviors - to assess the relative importance of these qualities to child vocabulary over time, and determine whether mothers make related changes in response to children’s development. Participants were 146 infants and mothers, assessed when infants were 14, 24, and 36 months. At 14 months, sensitivity had a stronger effect on vocabulary than did stimulation, but the effect of stimulation grew throughout toddlerhood. Mothers’ cognitive stimulation grew over time, whereas sensitivity remained stable. While discrete parenting behaviors changed with child age, there was no evidence of trade-offs between sensitive and stimulating behaviors, and no evidence that sensitivity moderated the effect of stimulation on child vocabulary. Findings demonstrate specificity of timing in the link between parenting qualities and child vocabulary which could inform early parent interventions, and supports a reconceptualization of the nature and measurement of parental sensitivity. PMID:28111526
Reduction of Cocaine-Induced Locomotor Effects by Enriched Environment Is Associated with Cell-Specific Accumulation of ΔFosB in Striatal and Cortical Subregions.

PubMed

Lafragette, Audrey; Bardo, Michael T; Lardeux, Virginie; Solinas, Marcello; Thiriet, Nathalie

2017-03-01

Early exposure to enriched environments has been shown to decrease the locomotor effects induced by repeated injections of cocaine and modify basal and cocaine-induced total protein levels of the transcription factor ΔFosB in the whole striatum of mice. In this study, we aimed at characterizing whether the profile of ΔFosB accumulation induced by enriched environments and cocaine would be similar or different in terms of brain areas and cell type. We used mice expressing the eGFP protein in D1 receptor positive (D1R(+)) neurons to determine whether Δ FosB induced by enriched environment or cocaine injections (5×15 mg/kg) would occur in selective subpopulations of neurons in several subregions of the striatum and prefrontal cortex. We found that: (1) exposure to enriched environment reduces cocaine-induced locomotor activation, confirming our previous findings; (2) exposure to enriched environment by itself increases the accumulation of Δ FosB mostly in D1R(-) cells in the shell part of the nucleus accumbens and dorsal striatum, whereas in the nucleus accumbens core, Δ FosB accumulates in both D1R(+) and D1R(-) neurons; (3) in standard environment mice, cocaine induces accumulation of Δ FosB selectively in D1R(+) cells in the nucleus accumbens, dorsal striatum, and infralimbic cortex; and (4) the effects of enriched environments and cocaine on accumulation of Δ FosB were reciprocally blocked by their combination. Altogether, these results suggest that the enriched environment-induced reduction in behavioral effects of cocaine might result from 2 distinct effects on ΔFosB in striatal medium-sized spiny neurons belonging to the direct and indirect pathways. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.
The effects of tree shelters on seedling survival and growth of two bottomland hardwood species: third-year results

Treesearch

H. Christoph Stuhlinger; Jeffery A. Earl; Rebecca A. Montgomery

2010-01-01

Tree shelters can aid hardwood seedling establishment by increasing early survival and growth. Tree shelters are translucent plastic tubes that act as mini-greenhouses by maintaining higher humidity environments around the seedlings (Minter and others 1992). Shelters can also protect seedlings from herbivory (Schweitzer and others 1999). Lower cost shelters may provide...
Parents' Perceptions of a Later Learning Disability in Reading and the First Five Years of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delaney, Patrick S.

2013-01-01

Research suggests that a child's earliest interactions with parents and guardians have a profound effect on later social and educational development. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceptions of parents of children with diagnosed reading disabilities to better understand how the early home literacy environment may…
"Children, Youth and Environments" (CYE) Announces a Special Issue on Greening Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bailie, Patti; Rosenow, Nancy

2014-01-01

The collection of papers contained in this special issue was elicited by a worldwide call for papers to explore settings that provided nature experiences for young children, with attention given to the effects that these initiatives have on the holistic development and environmental awareness of the children, as well as impacts on the teachers and…

MBA Teaching Challenges in a Changing Political and Economic Environment: A Case Study of MBA Teachers and Students in Poland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kowalski, Ewa

2008-01-01

Master of Business Administration (MBA) education was introduced to Poland in the early 1990s with the purpose of preparing business practitioners for effective management and leadership in a market economy and increasingly globalizing marketplace. Due to individual, institutional, and national factors; adjusting teaching to address the complex…
Computers for Cognitive Development in Early Childhood--The Teacher's Role in the Computer Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nir-Gal, Ofra; Klein, Pnina S.

2004-01-01

This study was designed to examine the effect of different kinds of adult mediation on the cognitive performance of young children who used computers. The study sample included 150 kindergarten children aged 5-6. The findings indicate that children who engaged in adult-mediated computer activity improved the level of their cognitive performance on…
Mediational Effects of Desktop-Videoconferencing Telecollaborative Exchanges on the Intercultural Communicative Competence of Students of French as a Foreign Language

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Veronique

2013-01-01

Since the early 2000s, foreign language practitioners and researchers have shown an increasing interest in exploring the affordances of multimodal telecollaborative environments for the linguistic and intercultural development of their students. Due in part to their inherent complexity, one-on-one desktop-videoconferencing contexts have not been…
Evolution, Stress, and Sensitive Periods: The Influence of Unpredictability in Early versus Late Childhood on Sex and Risky Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simpson, Jeffry A.; Griskevicius, Vladas; Kuo, Sally I-Chun; Sung, Sooyeon; Collins, W. Andrew

2012-01-01

According to a recent evolutionary life history model of development proposed by Ellis, Figueredo, Brumbach, and Schlomer (2009), growing up in harsh versus unpredictable environments should have unique effects on life history strategies in adulthood. Using data from the Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation, we tested how harshness…
Early Family Environments May Moderate Prediction of Low Educational Attainment in Adulthood: The Cases of Childhood Hyperactivity and Authoritarian Parenting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flouri, Eirini

2007-01-01

Using longitudinal data from the 1970 British Cohort Study, this study explored conditions under which the effects of risk factors for low educational attainment might be moderated. Two different risk factors, hyperactivity and maternal authoritarian parenting attitudes, were studied. The results showed that on the whole these two risk factors…
Undue Lead Absorption and Lead Poisoning in Children: An Overview.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin-Fu, J. S.

The toxic effects of lead, a useful metal ubiquitous in the human environment, have long been known. The occupational hazards of lead poisoning were well established by the early 19th century, but plumbism in children caused by paint ingestion was not reported until the turn of the century. Even in 1924, the child was said to live in a "lead…
Mitigating Effects of the Adoptive Caregiving Environment on Inattention/Overactivity in Children Adopted from Romanian Orphanages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Audet, Karyn; Le Mare, Lucy

2011-01-01

We examined inattention/overactivity (I/O) over time and in relation to caregiving in three matched groups: (1) Romanian Orphans (RO) with a minimum of eight months' deprivation prior to adoption, (2) Early Adopted (EA) children adopted from Romania prior to age four months, and (3) Canadian Born (CB) non-adopted children. Comparisons among groups…
The Long Arm of Community: The Influence of Childhood Community Contexts across the Early Life Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wickrama, K. A. S.; Noh, Samuel

2010-01-01

This study examines the longitudinal effects of childhood community contexts on young adult outcomes. The study uses a sample of 14,000 adolescents (52% female) derived from the 1990 US Census and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Addhealth). The study examines whether community and family environments exert separate and/or…
Bystanders' Roles and Children with Special Educational Needs in Bullying Situations among Preschool-Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Repo, Laura; Sajaniemi, Nina

2015-01-01

Despite the growing body of evidence that the origins of bullying lie in early childhood, very little is known about the nature of the phenomenon in preschool groups. The current understanding among studies conducted in the school environment is that bullying prevention can only be effective if training with individual children takes place…
Research of Cemented Paste Backfill in Offshore Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kun; Yang, Peng; Lyu, Wensheng; Lin, Zhixiang

2018-01-01

To promote comprehensive utilization of mine waste tailings and control ground pressure, filling mine stopes with cement paste backfill (CPB) is becoming the most widely used and applicable method in contemporary underground mining. However, many urgent new problems have arisen during the exploitation in offshore mines owing to the complex geohydrology conditions. A series of rheological, settling and mechanical tests were carried out to study the influences of bittern ions on CPB properties in offshore mining. The results showed that: (1) the bittern ion compositions and concentrations of backfill water sampled in mine filling station were similar to seawater. Backfill water mixed CPB slurry with its higher viscosity coefficient was adverse to pipeline gravity transporting; (2) Bleeding rate of backfill water mixed slurry was lower than that prepared with tap water at each cement-tailings ratio; (3) The UCS values of backfill water mixed samples were higher at early curing ages (3d, 7d) and then became lower after longer curing time at 14d and 28d. Therefore, for mine production practice, the offshore environments can have adverse effects on the pipeline gravity transporting and have positive effects on stope dewatering process and early-age strength growth.
Microgravity Effects on the Early Events of Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago Truncatula: Results from the SyNRGE Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stutte, Gary W.; Roberts, Michael S.

2013-02-01

SyNRGE (Symbiotic Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment) was a sortie mission on STS-135 in the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) hardware to study the effect of μg on a plant-microbe symbiosis resulting in biological nitrogen fixation. Medicago truncatula, a model species for the legume family, was inoculated with its bacterial symbiont, Sinorhizobium meliloti, to observe early biomolecular events associated with infection and nodulation in Petri Dish Fixation Units (PDFU’s). Two sets of experiments were conducted in orbit and in 24-hour delayed ground controls. Experiments were designed to determine if S. meliloti would infect M. truncatula and initiate biomolecular changes associated with nodule formation and if the μg environment altered the host plant and/or bacteria to induce nodule formation upon return to 1g. Initial analysis results demonstrate that the legumes and bacteria cultivated in μg have potential to develop a symbiotic interaction, but suggest that μg alters their ability to form nodules upon return to 1g. (Research supported by NASA ESMD/ Advance Capabilities Division grant NNX10AR09A)
How orchids concentrate? The relationship between physiological stress reactivity and cognitive performance during infancy and early childhood.

PubMed

Wass, Sam V

2018-03-30

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is involved both in higher-order cognition such as attention and learning, and in responding to unexpected, threatening events. Increased ANS reactivity may confer both superior short-term cognitive performance, and heightened long-term susceptibility to adverse events. Here, we evaluate this hypothesis within the Differential Susceptibility Theory (DST) framework. We hypothesise that individuals with increased reactivity may show heightened biological sensitivity to context, conferring both positive (development-enhancing) effects (superior attention and learning) and negative (risk-promoting) effects (increased sensitivity to unsupportive environments). First, we examine how ANS reactivity relates to early cognitive performance. We hypothesise that increased phasic ANS reactivity, observed at lower tonic (pre-stimulus) ANS activity, is associated with better attention and learning. We conclude that the evidence is largely in support. Second we discuss whether ANS reactivity to 'positive', attention-eliciting and to 'negative', aversive stimuli is a one-dimensional construct; and evaluate evidence for how the real-world environment influences physiological stress over short and long time-frames. We identify three areas where the evidence is currently inconclusive. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The history of the UV radiation climate of the earth--theoretical and space-based observations.

PubMed

Cockell, C S; Horneck, G

2001-04-01

In the Archean era (3.8-2.5 Ga ago) the Earth probably lacked a protective ozone column. Using data obtained in the Earth's orbit on the inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores we quantitatively estimate the potential biological effects of such an environment. We combine this practical data with theoretical calculations to propose a history of the potential UV stress on the surface of the Earth over time. The data suggest that an effective ozone column was established at a pO2 of approximately 5 x 10(-3) present atmospheric level. The improvement in the UV environment on the early Proterozoic Earth might have been a much more rapid event than has previously been supposed, with DNA damage rates dropping by two orders of magnitude in the space of just a few tens of millions of years. We postulate that a coupling between reduced UV stress and increased pO2 production could have contributed toward a positive feedback in the production of ozone in the early Proterozoic atmosphere. This would contribute to the apparent rapidity of the oxidation event. The data provide an evolutionary perspective on present-day Antarctic ozone depletion.
Genetic susceptibility to family environment: BDNF Val66met and 5-HTTLPR influence depressive symptoms.

PubMed

Dalton, Elizabeth D; Hammen, Constance L; Najman, Jake M; Brennan, Patricia A

2014-12-01

Functional genetic polymorphisms associated with Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and serotonin (5-HTTLPR) have demonstrated associations with depression in interaction with environmental stressors. In light of evidence for biological connections between BDNF and serotonin, it is prudent to consider genetic epistasis between variants in these genes in the development of depressive symptoms. The current study examined the effects of val66met, 5-HTTLPR, and family environment quality on youth depressive symptoms in adolescence and young adulthood in a longitudinal sample oversampled for maternal depression history. A differential susceptibility model was tested, comparing the effects of family environment on depression scores across different levels of a cumulative plasticity genotype, defined as presence of both, either, or neither plasticity alleles (defined here as val66met Met and 5-HTTLPR 'S'). Cumulative plasticity genotype interacted with family environment quality to predict depression among males and females at age 15. After age 15, however, the interaction of cumulative plasticity genotype and early family environment quality was only predictive of depression among females. Results supported a differential susceptibility model at age 15, such that plasticity allele presence was associated with more or less depressive symptoms depending on valence of the family environment, and a diathesis-stress model of gene-environment interaction after age 15. These findings, although preliminary because of the small sample size, support prior results indicating interactive effects of 5-HTTLPR, val66met, and environmental stress, and suggest that family environment may have a stronger influence on genetically susceptible women than men.
Early-life nutrition modulates the epigenetic state of specific rDNA genetic variants in mice.

PubMed

Holland, Michelle L; Lowe, Robert; Caton, Paul W; Gemma, Carolina; Carbajosa, Guillermo; Danson, Amy F; Carpenter, Asha A M; Loche, Elena; Ozanne, Susan E; Rakyan, Vardhman K

2016-07-29

A suboptimal early-life environment, due to poor nutrition or stress during pregnancy, can influence lifelong phenotypes in the progeny. Epigenetic factors are thought to be key mediators of these effects. We show that protein restriction in mice from conception until weaning induces a linear correlation between growth restriction and DNA methylation at ribosomal DNA (rDNA). This epigenetic response remains into adulthood and is restricted to rDNA copies associated with a specific genetic variant within the promoter. Related effects are also found in models of maternal high-fat or obesogenic diets. Our work identifies environmentally induced epigenetic dynamics that are dependent on underlying genetic variation and establishes rDNA as a genomic target of nutritional insults. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Galactic satellite systems: radial distribution and environment dependence of galaxy morphology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ann, H. B.; Park, Changbom; Choi, Yun-Young

2008-09-01

We have studied the radial distribution of the early (E/S0) and late (S/Irr) types of satellites around bright host galaxies. We made a volume-limited sample of 4986 satellites brighter than Mr = -18.0 associated with 2254 hosts brighter than Mr = -19.0 from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 5 sample. The morphology of satellites is determined by an automated morphology classifier, but the host galaxies are visually classified. We found segregation of satellite morphology as a function of the projected distance from the host galaxy. The amplitude and shape of the early-type satellite fraction profile are found to depend on the host luminosity. This is the morphology-radius/density relation at the galactic scale. There is a strong tendency for morphology conformity between the host galaxy and its satellites. The early-type fraction of satellites hosted by early-type galaxies is systematically larger than that of late-type hosts, and is a strong function of the distance from the host galaxies. Fainter satellites are more vulnerable to the morphology transformation effects of hosts. Dependence of satellite morphology on the large-scale background density was detected. The fraction of early-type satellites increases in high-density regions for both early- and late-type hosts. It is argued that the conformity in morphology of galactic satellite system is mainly originated by the hydrodynamical and radiative effects of hosts on satellites.
ECO and RESOLVE: Morphology and Disk Growth in Environmental Context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moffett, Amanda J.; Kannappan, Sheila; Berlind, Andreas A.; Eckert, Kathleen D.; Stark, David; Hendel, David; Norris, Mark A.; Grogin, Norman A.; RESOLVE Team

2016-01-01

We present the first data release of the Environmental COntext (ECO) catalog, which was designed to surround and complement the RESOLVE survey with matched photometry, gas and stellar mass estimates, and environment metrics for ~13,000 galaxies in a >500,000 cubic Mpc volume. In the first results from ECO, we study the phenomenon of galaxy disk growth by considering by-eye and quantitative morphological classifications as well as galaxy environments quantified using group identifications and halo abundance matching (on integrated r-band luminosity) as well as smoothed galaxy density fields. Additionally, we derive HI gas masses and upper limits from ALFALFA data and HI mass estimates from the photometric gas fraction technique. We find that blue early-type (E/S0) galaxies, gas-dominated galaxies, and UV-bright disk host galaxies all become distinctly more common below group halo mass ˜10^11.5 Msun, implying that this low group halo mass regime may be a preferred regime for significant disk growth activity. We also find that blue early-type and blue late-type galaxies inhabit environments of similar group halo mass at fixed baryonic mass, consistent with a scenario in which blue early types can regrow late-type disks. More generally, we argue that the traditional morphology-environment relation (i.e., that denser environments have more early types) can be largely attributed to the morphology-galaxy mass relation for centrals and the color-environment relation for satellites. This work has been supported through NSF grant AST-0955368.
40 CFR 63.74 - Demonstration of early reduction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 9 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Demonstration of early reduction. 63.74... Governing Compliance Extensions for Early Reductions of Hazardous Air Pollutants § 63.74 Demonstration of early reduction. (a) An owner or operator applying for an alternative emission limitation shall...
Early life family conflict, Social interactions and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood

PubMed Central

John-Henderson, Neha A.; Kamarck, Thomas W.; Muldoon, Matthew F.; Manuck, Stephen B.

2015-01-01

Objective Conflict in early life family environments is known to affect psychosocial functioning and coping styles into adulthood and is reported to negatively affect access to psychosocial resources that are critical to the management of stress. However, it remains unknown whether early life family conflict similarly affects subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. We predicted that family conflict in early life would be associated with greater mean Intima-Media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of CVD risk, in adulthood. Methods Data were collected in a community sample of 503 adults (47.4 % male, mean age: 42.8 years [SD=7.3]). Associations between family conflict in early life with IMT (assessed using B-mode ultrasound) in adulthood were examined using regression analysis. We also tested for indirect effects of early life family conflict on mean IMT through ecological momentary assessment (EMA) reports of social interactions, diversity of social roles, and perceived social support. Results Linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics and physiological risk factors showed conflict in early life associated with greater mean IMT (β=0.08, t(447)=2.13, p=0.034, R2=0.46). Early life conflict was significantly related to diversity of social roles, perceived social support, and EMA reports of pleasant and social conflict interactions. Significant indirect effects of early life conflict on mean IMT were observed through fewer pleasant social interactions and more frequent social conflict interactions in adulthood (β = 0.001, 95% CI, 0.0001–0.0014 and β=0.001, 95% CI, 0.0002–0.0015, respectively). Conclusions These findings provide initial evidence that family conflict in early life heightens CVD risk in adulthood, in part by shaping the quality of adulthood social interactions. PMID:26809109
Early Life Family Conflict, Social Interactions, and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Adulthood.

PubMed

John-Henderson, Neha A; Kamarck, Thomas W; Muldoon, Matthew F; Manuck, Stephen B

2016-04-01

Conflict in early life family environments is known to affect psychosocial functioning and coping styles into adulthood and is reported to negatively affect access to psychosocial resources that are critical to the management of stress. However, it remains unknown whether early life family conflict similarly affects subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adulthood. We predicted that family conflict in early life would be associated with greater mean intima-media thickness (IMT), a subclinical marker of CVD risk, in adulthood. Data were collected in a community sample of 503 adults (47.4 % male, mean [standard deviation] age = 42.8 [7.3] years). Associations between family conflict in early life with IMT (assessed using B-mode ultrasound) in adulthood were examined using regression analysis. We also tested for indirect effects of early life family conflict on mean IMT through ecological momentary assessment reports of social interactions, diversity of social roles, and perceived social support. Linear regression analyses adjusted for demographics and physiological risk factors showed conflict in early life associated with greater mean IMT (β = 0.08, t(447) = 2.13, p = .034, R = 0.46). Early life conflict was significantly related to diversity of social roles, perceived social support, and ecological momentary assessment reports of pleasant and social conflict interactions. Significant indirect effects of early life conflict on mean IMT were observed through fewer pleasant social interactions and more frequent social conflict interactions in adulthood (β = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0001-0.0014] and β = 0.001 [95% confidence interval = 0.0002-0.0015], respectively). These findings provide initial evidence that family conflict in early life heightens CVD risk in adulthood, in part by shaping the quality of adulthood social interactions.

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.